Research

The knowledge on material flows in and out of the EU economy is well-investigated and data is regularly collected in the form of resource extraction and consumption as well as waste generation and treatment. However, a large part of material inputs to the EU economy are accumulated as material stocks. Data on additions to stocks, discards from stocks and their material composition are less well investigated, in particular if compiled in a fully mass-balanced way considering service lifetimes of stocks. For an in-depth evaluation and future planning of circular economy measures, a proper understanding of stock-flow relations is required. Hence, this project will look into material stocks with the view of improving the knowledge base around the conceptual coverage of material stocks in relation to flows, understanding the links between material accumulation and circularity and proposing ways to monitor the material stocks’ contribution to an EU circular economy.

Adequate habitation is an essential human right required for wellbeing, while also constituting a major source of GHG emissions during construction, heating and cooling. Furthermore, the spatial patterns of buildings and settlements shape mobility requirements. Contemporary forms of habitation are highly climate relevant as housing and passenger mobility directly contribute 40% of Austria’s greenhouse gas emissions, with further indirect emissions from industry and energy supply. Rising costs of these necessities have had negative social effects, such as an increased risk of poverty (SDG 1) and of rising inequalities (SDG 10). These effects further contribute to already prevalent resistance against progressive climate policies, because rising costs of habitation have severely limited Austria’s opportunity space to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, leading to societal resistance against and delays in climate policies, often due to a prioritisation of short-term goals and the rising popularity of right-wing parties opposing climate measures. The interlinkages between these existential crises demonstrate the need for holistic perspectives that integrate socio-economic and environmental concerns. To address social concerns, various income compensation measures, such as the “climate bonus” and financial support schemes during the cost-of-living crisis, have been prioritised in Austrian policy interventions. While these measures play a vital role in a rich climate policy toolkit, they forego the opportunity for more profound transformations of provisioning systems to transform consumption and production towards sustainable pathways. Against this backdrop, HABITATION-CORRIDORS explores sufficiency-oriented eco-social policy and planning instruments related to housing (including related energy use) and induced mobility (summarised as “habitation”). It draws inspiration from the concept of “corridors,” which has gained recognition, notably in the latest IPCC report. Corridors provide a framework to implement sufficiency, defining minimum standards for a good life (such as guaranteed living space, energy access, and mobility) and maximum limits on the use of natural and social resources. The goal is to move beyond mere income stabilisation and break down the dualism between climate and social policies, where the latter merely “compensates” for the negative social impacts of the former. Corridors serve as cornerstones for an integrated eco-social approach to living well within planetary boundaries. Developing habitation corridors is critical, not only because (a lack of) essential goods/services directly affects well-being and societal acceptance of climate policies but also because contemporary habitation is emission and resource intensive, meriting a deeper discussion on maximum limits.

Extreme weather events cause substantial economic damage and social disruption. These climate-related risks will become even more severe in the future, driven by changes in the frequency and magnitude of natural hazard events. Agriculture and forestry are especially vulnerable against an increase of future climate-related extreme events, particularly in the context of hydroclimatic risks (river floods and torrents, and water scarcity and droughts). HydrATer focusses on the holistic governance and management of hydro-climatic risks to improve the social-ecological resilience of land-water systems. Societies need to adapt, and governments must prioritize, accelerate, and scale up their response mechanisms to extreme hydro-climatic events. This requires innovative governance and risk management to navigate uncertainty, reduce duplication, make more efficient use of public resources, and protect communities, economies, and ecosystems. HydrATer will develop a dynamic, integrated socio-ecological modelling framework to analyse the impacts of gradual climatic and socio-economic changes and extreme events on decision-making by land users, other sectors and local and regional decision-makers, and to determine the consequences for water quantity and quality and for the functions of aquatic ecosystems. A combination of models (land use decision making, hydrological and aquatic) will be developed together with regional stakeholders in a participatory process through a series of workshops and participatory scenario building. The model framework interactively demonstrates the impact of interventions in the regional system. The model will be a co-product and serve as a communication instrument and can be used as a decision-support tool by the stakeholders. HydrATer's innovative inter- and transdisciplinary approach integrates (i) different dimensions of resilience, (ii) specific institutional settings and (iii) specific adaptation needs and develops (iv) a decision support tool that analyses the impacts of climate change in combination with political interventions on the hydrological and aquatic system.