Author: Umweltbundesamt
Year of publication: 2017
Available languages: English, German
Type of assessment: Vulnerability assessment
Details: Climate impact and vulnerability assessments
Format of assessment: Guideline
Estimated costs for conducting: No information
Estimated duration of assessment: No information
To be carried out by whom: Multiple actors
Details: Scientists/researchers, Government representatives, Consultants (climate experts)
Institutional scale of use: Multiple (see details)
Details: National and regional level
Assesment to be used by which target audience: Multiple actors
Details: National and regional level funding agencies, research institutes and advisory bodies
Output: Report
Details: The presentation of results should be oriented at the target group
Region of origin: Europe
Developed by which sector: State-run
Applied in practice: Yes
Geographic coverage in analysis: Europe
Potential geographic coverage: Germany, could be adapted to other contexts
Sectors covered: Not sector specific
Method used: Mixed method approach
Description of methodology: The guideline includes 3 working steps: Plan and prepare the assessment (involving experts, specifying the methodological framework and scenarios for climate stimuli, spatial exposure and sensitivity); Step-by-step execution of the assessment (developing impact chains, operationalising and evaluating the climate impacts, evaluating adaptive capacity and vulnerability); Communicating and using the results
Risk framework used: AR4
Risk components incorporated: Vulnerability, sensitivity, exposure, adaptive capacity
Details: Climate stimuli, climate impact
Hazards and impacts considered in the assessment: All hazards
Source of required data: Primary and secondary
Details: Varying depending on the context and extent the risk assessment is to be carried out with
Temporal scale: All
Participatory elements: Yes
Details: Use of quantitative (potential flooding areas as an indicator for the climate impact flooding), but also semi-quantitative or qualitative (estimation of energy availability) is recommended
Consideration of interconnectedness and -dependencies of risks: Yes
Details: Impact chains for understanding drivers of direct and indirect impacts and risks are applied
Adressing uncertainty: Yes
Details: Existing uncertainties can be taken into account by using at least two sensitivity and spatial scenarios
Scope of assessment: Identification of risks, assessment of impacts, identification of adaptation options, priorization of adaptation options, identification of limits to adaptation
Economic/Non-Economic losses incorporated: Both
Applicability for entire risk spectrum (from extreme weather events to slow onset processes): Yes
Recommendations for Adaptation measures included in Climate Risk Assessment: No
Details: Analyses currently implemented adaptive capacity and their effects
Usefulness for political purposes: It seeks to support evidence-based climate impact and vulnerability assessments in order to facilitate decision making
Applied by whom: Umweltbundesamt
Open access: Yes