Tag: Diagnosis

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Resilience of what to what?

Jack Kruf | April 2024 (update from August 2016)

What is resilience? Well, there is no simple answer to this. Especially not regarding that of the ecosystem of a city. The concept, you might say, is in development in different sciences and recently entered the public governance domain related to the social-ecological system of society.

A resilient system. The ecosystem (red dot) is embedded in walls of resistance. © Jack Kruf

Can resilience be measured as an indicator of an ecosystem’s state? How are the living and non-living factors of the measured system calculated? Can it create true insight into the tone of the city, society, and nature?

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2024 Climate Risk Landscape Report

United Nations Environment Program UNEP | April 2024

In 2023, temperatures shattered records with a 116-day streak of peak temperatures. As the urgency of addressing and adapting to the pressing threat of climate change rapidly grows, the financial sector recognises its pivotal role in addressing climate risks, and financial institutions are increasingly looking to integrate climate change-related risks into their strategic frameworks.   

The 2024 Climate Risk Landscape Report serves as a comprehensive resource delving into the available tools for financial institutions to assess physical and transition climate risks and boost their institution’s resilience to related impacts.

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Worst Case Sea Level Rise

Jack Kruf en ChatGPT| March 2024, en • nl

One of my children asked me about the worst-case scenario of rising sea levels. My father was heavily involved in rescue operations in the 1953 Dutch flooding disaster, so I read most of the reports. In my youth, the sea level grew because of the many stories of this disaster in my hometown Halsteren. I had my notes and asked ChatGPT, my personal Einstein friend, to help me summarize and elaborate on this. Well.

• Eén van mijn kinderen vroeg mij naar het worst-case scenario van de stijgende zeespiegel. Als kind van een vader die diep betrokken was bij reddingsoperaties tijdens de Nederlandse overstromingsramp van 1953, heb ik de meeste rapporten hierover gelezen. De zeespiegel is in mijn jeugd in mij gegroeid door de talloze verhalen van die ramp in mijn dorp Halsteren. Ik heb mijn aantekeningen en vroeg ChatGPT, mijn persoonlijke Einstein-vriend, om me te helpen dit samen te vatten en uit te werken. Wel.

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A Bigger Picture

My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis

Vanessa Nakate | 2021

This memoir delves into Nakate’s journey as a Ugandan climate activist. It chronicles her experiences growing up in Uganda, awakening to the environmental crisis, and rising as a prominent voice in the global climate movement.

Vanessa Nakate shares personal anecdotes, reflecting on her childhood in Kampala and how her early experiences with climate change impacts, such as droughts and floods, shaped her activism. She discusses her initial frustrations with the lack of attention given to African voices in the climate conversation and her determination to advocate for environmental justice for marginalized communities.

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European climate risk assessment

The European Environment Agency | March 2024

Europe needs to adapt faster to rising climate risks. Extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and floods significantly threaten food security and financial stability. According to the analysis, Europe must better arm itself to counter that danger.

The European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA)* identifies 36 climate risks with potentially severe consequences across Europe. The risks are evaluated in risk severity, policy horizon (lead time and decision horizon), policy readiness, and risk ownership. Based on a structured risk assessment united with qualitative aspects, such as considering social justice, it further identifies priorities for EU policy action.

On p.16 of the report, The European Environment Agency explained its definition and concept of risk.

‘Climate risk is the potential for adverse consequences for human or ecological systems’.

EUCRA: “Relevant adverse consequences include those on lives, livelihoods, health and well-being, economic, social and cultural assets and investments, infrastructure, services (including ecosystem services), ecosystems, and species (IPCC conform, 2022e, Glossary).”
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Rising above water

Marta Jiménez | October 2021, Utrecht University

Sea levels are rising, and the rate of rise is accelerating. All over the world, many of today’s dikes, sea walls and flood barriers won’t be enough to hold back the water in the future. This will be particularly a problem in countries that lack the resources to maintain or fund extensive engineering projects to protect their citizens. But we can all learn from alternative, more affordable and flexible approaches that adapt to the rising water currently emerging all around the world.

Detail Rising above Water ©Utrecht University

Rather than only battling to keep ever-rising seas out, these natural solutions aim to help rebuild land above sea level. Researchers from Utrecht University are testing which of these strategies will work for specific regions to help tame the tide. And they’re also thinking ahead: how can we minimise the damage and ensure people have somewhere safe to go when the water does come?

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Denkend aan Nederland (en de Zee)

Thinking of the Netherlands (and the Sea)

Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat | maart 2024

Hoe te denken over Nederland en de zeespiegel die stijgt en stijgt? Ruimte voor zeespiegelstijging gaat over denkrichtingen om dit land op lange termijn veilig en leefbaar te houden. Welke opties zijn er? Het rapport biedt bouwstenen om de puzzel van politiek-bestuurlijk haalbare, technisch realiseerbare en financieel mogelijke ingrepen te leggen. Het brengt publieke waarden en hun risico’s (lees risico als ‘mogelijke schade aan gestelde waarde’) in elkaars verlengde. • How to think about The Netherlands and rising sea levels. This report by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management is about ways to keep this country safe and livable in the long term. What options are there? The report provides the first building blocks to assemble the puzzle for politically and administratively feasible, technically realisable, and financially affordable interventions. It aligns public values and their risks (read risk as potential damage to set value).

Het Kennisprogramma Zeespiegelstijging – een landelijk onderzoeksprogramma van het ministerie van Infrastructuur en Water en de Deltacommissaris – komt met drie denkrichtingen, die zijn uitgewerkt door drie consortia van adviesbureaus, wetenschappers, overheden en maatschappelijke organisaties. •  The Sea Level Rise Knowledge Programme—a national research programme of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water and the Delta Commissioner—proposes three schools of thought developed by three consortia of consulting firms, scientists, governments, and civil society organisations.

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