How can climate risk assessments better support decision-making across different European regions and contexts? A new paper developed within the CLIMAAX project presents a harmonised framework for climate risk assessment that applies established approaches via what the authors call “standardised flexibility” to ensure a balance between common principles and the ability to adapt assessments to different institutional, procedural and hazard contexts.

“Climate risk assessments need to consider diverse perspectives to account for different insights and realities for effective adaptation. With our harmonised and inclusive framework, we advance climate risk assessment practices by acknowledging individual climate risk contexts while adhering to established processes” said Michaela Bachmann, first author of the paper and researcher at IIASA.

The framework addresses four key challenges: integrating quantitative and qualitative information; accounting for the social construction of climate risk; incorporating adaptation responses into risk assessment; and ensuring that assessments remain useful across different scales and contexts. Particular attention is given to risk evaluation and its assessment dashboard, rooting in a participatory approach that considers the role of resilience and adaptation capacity in shaping risk.

Framework application as well as implementation of standardised flexibility was illustrated in six case studies across Europe and beyond, highlighting both its potential as well as limitations that remain to be addressed on the ground.

By strengthening the links between climate risk assessment and climate risk management, the framework aims to help translate climate risk information into more relevant and actionable knowledge – supporting regions in developing effective adaptation strategies and building a more resilient future.