PACINAS

Cost-effectiveness of Austria’s National Adaptation Strategy

Objective

This project analysed the consequences of major Austrian climate adaptation measures on public budgets. Within the project, case study assessments at the federal, provincial, and municipal governance levels were combined with a macroeconomic assessment.

Project description

The aim of the PACINAS project was to determine or estimate the potential (i.e. planned) public adaptation costs and benefits of implementing the Austrian Adaptation Strategy (NAS) on climate change — information that plays a crucial role regarding public finances and can strengthen the ability to take sound adaptation decisions for adequate and cost-effective adaptation activities and measures. The project team focused on different governance levels in Austria — municipal, provincial and federal — to identify and assess response efforts and options for coping with changing climate impacts, such as heat extremes, precipitation and storm waters.

The project team identified adaptation needs and costs for public authorities in Austria at different governance levels and explored the effects of different adaptation types. Furthermore, the team estimated the macroeconomic effects of public adaptation, developed robust adaptation paths based on economic analysis of adaptation options, and identified synergies and potential trade-offs between public and private adaptation.

Main conclusions

• There is no clear distinction between impact costs and adaptation costs.
• Adaptation in cities focuses mainly on spatial planning, facility management of public buildings, road maintenance and damage repair, water management and wastewater management, and parks and urban green areas.
• Adaptation mainly refers on flood protection (e.g. un-paving of surfaces, soil drainage and flood retention basin construction) and urban heat exposure mitigation (e.g. step-by-step implementation of urban green area concepts, networking of green areas, balancing green area deficits, and promoting green roofs and facades).

Funder

 Austrian Climate Research Program (ACRP)