The need for transformative change - Part 2

July 2024

We are increasingly talking about the need to move beyond piecemeal action to transformative change to meet future challenges. In a series of blog posts on transformative change, we highlight - sometimes provocatively - aspects to stimulate debate and thinking beyond the usual lines of thought. In this sense, the blog posts are not necessarily balanced and do not attempt to cover all perspectives and possible futures.

In the first blog post (Opens in a new window), we looked at understanding transformative change and why we need it. We also looked at the expected economic and industrial changes. In this blog post we talk about transformative climate change adaptation and mitigation and transformative societal values.

This series of blog posts was inspired by discussions with Franziska Sielker and Maria Toptsidou about changing framework conditions in the Danube region.

The blog posts deepen the debate about future trends. They build on the 2022/23 blog posts about trends that will shape territorial development (Opens in a new window) and the 2024 blog posts about the ESPAS report trends to 2040 (Opens in a new window).

Transformative Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly visible across Europe. This calls for increased efforts to adapt to climate change and, where possible, to mitigate it. In many respects, a multitude of small-scale local actions may no longer be sufficient. More systemic - large-scale - interventions may be needed in many respects. Firstly, this will require decisions in which costs and benefits are separated by long time lags, and in some cases even spatial lags. Second, it involves intrinsically complex coupled social-ecological systems. Third, it involves the production of global collective goods that go beyond the scope of unilateral 'single best efforts' by any one actor. The focus on transformative climate change adaptation and mitigation could be strengthened, and a few more issues could be added to the debate: