People affected by flood disasters are at the centre of the JustFair project. Together with BOKU Vienna and Fresh Thoughts Consulting GmbH, the LIFE Institute examined three Austrian regions. The project was awarded 2nd place in the Austrian State Prize for Climate Change Adaptation in the special category of research. The award ceremony took place on 16th of October, where Leonore Gewessler, Federal Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, handed over the certificate to project manager Sebastian Seebauer from LIFE, Thomas Dworak from Fresh Thoughts and Thomas Thaler from BOKU.
Excellent research: JustFair
In the JustFair project, the regions of Ennstal in Styria and Freistadt and Perg in Upper Austria were scientifically analysed. These regions recently experienced severe flooding and are exposed to higher risks in the future. The results of the study show that physical indicators such as building location explain material damage, but that social and psychological factors make a decisive contribution to overall vulnerability. JustFair shows that the impact of a flood event also depends on the characteristics of the households and companies affected. The current monetary-economic assessment of physical damage can therefore lead to unequal treatment of affected households, businesses and communities.
Resilience and vulnerability
Available resources, flexibility and social networks influence the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Micro-enterprises in particular are often under-protected and could become insolvent in the event of flooding. The study emphasises the need to consider vulnerability as a complex, multi-layered concept in order not to neglect vulnerable groups. The JustFair project developed political guidelines. To this end, international practices in dealing with issues of social justice in climate change adaptation were compared and disadvantaged groups among households and small businesses were empirically identified. In doing so, it was taken into account that individual resources and deficits must be weighed against each other.
Austrian State Prize for Climate Change Adaptation
CliA is the Austrian State Prize for Climate Change Adaptation, which is awarded annually by the Federal Ministry for Climate Change (BMK). It was created to emphasise the importance of adaptation as the second pillar of climate policy.
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- JustFair (Englisch)
- Austrian State Prize for Climate Change Adaptation
- BMK: Bundesministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie
- BOKU Wien
- Fresh Thoughts Consulting GmbH
