Protective mechanisms against the social risks associated with climate change in Europe: a comparative perspective

The project “Protective mechanisms against the social risks associated with climate change in Europe: a comparative perspective” (PROTECCT) has been selected by the ANR for a period of 36 months. Under the scientific coordination of Anne-Laure Beaussier, this collaborative project gathers Lydie Cabane of Leiden University, Bruno Palier and Tom Chevalier from Sciences Po LIEPP and Benoit Giry from the Institut Études Politiques of Rennes.

Summary: 

How are European Welfare states adapting to the ever-increasing climate crisis? The last report on  adaptation from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns against an "unavoidable increase in  multiple climate hazards'' and "multiple risks for ecosystems and humans" in the short and medium terms, whatever efforts are made to reduce carbon emissions. The question of how to protect  populations against socio-environmental risks is an emerging and pressing issue both on the political and  institutional scenes and in academic debates, to which this research project aims to contribute

Combining  comparative social policy analysis and sociology of risks and disasters, this project will highlight, map and analyze the protection mechanisms against social risks associated with environmental hazards linked to climate change. It poses the following question: how can we characterize and explain the different types of policies implemented in Europe to protect populations against environmental hazards? The aim is to study existing protection systems in European countries against the risks of drought, flooding, coastal erosion and heatwaves, and their adaptation to the climate crisis. Using a mixed-methods approach, the project will map protection policies against the social risks posed by climatic hazards in the EU (+U.K.), by building a unique comparative database; and will conduct a comparative case-study survey (France, Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Italy) that will account for the ways in which social and environmental protection mechanisms are being reframed to adapt to a warmer and more dangerous world, the actors involved, the options discussed and the institutions involved in these processes since the early 2000s.