Rising to a New Challenge

The document argues that climate adaptation research focuses too heavily on local impacts, creating a blind spot regarding transboundary climate risks. It critiques the impact chain framework for its linear focus and lack of consideration for risk ownership in fragmented governance. To address this, the paper introduces a new protocol based on complex risk management and risk ownership frameworks to help researchers identify and appraise systemic, cross-border risks.

• Current climate adaptation research predominantly focuses on local and direct impacts, neglecting transboundary climate risks that affect all countries regardless of development level.
• The impact chain framework, while flexible and systems-focused, is limited by an emphasis on linear cause-effect relationships and a failure to address risk ownership within fragmented governance landscapes.
• The author proposes a seven-step guide and protocol designed to enable researchers to identify, assess, and appraise transboundary climate risks and determine appropriate risk owners and adaptation options across different scales.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Rising to a New Challenge. https://www.sei.org/publications/rising-to-a-new-challenge/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Rising to a New Challenge. 2022. https://www.sei.org/publications/rising-to-a-new-challenge/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Rising to a New Challenge |date=31 August 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/rising-to-a-new-challenge/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022rising, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Rising to a New Challenge}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/rising-to-a-new-challenge/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }