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The climate is changing, and the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region is vulnerable to the consequences. Many of the region's countries are facing warmer temperatures, a changing hydrology, and more extremes, droughts, floods, heat waves, windstorms, and forest fires. This book presents an overview of what adaptation to climate change might mean for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It starts with a discussion of emerging best-practice adaptation planning around the world and a review of the latest climate projections. It then discusses possible actions to improve resilience organized around impacts on health, natural resources (water, biodiversity, and the coastal environment), the 'unbuilt' environment (agriculture and forestry), and the built environment (infrastructure and housing). The last chapter concludes with a discussion of two areas in great need of strengthening given the changing climate: disaster preparedness and hydro-meteorological services. This book has four key messages: a) contrary to popular perception, Eastern Europe and Central Asia face significant threats from climate change, with a number of the most serious risks already in evidence; b) vulnerability over the next 10 to 20 years is likely to be dominated by socioeconomic factors and legacy issues; c) even countries and sectors that stand to benefit from climate change are poorly positioned to do so; and d) the next decade offers a window of opportunity for ECA countries to make their development more resilient to climate change while reaping numerous co-benefits.

Recently, reported long-term climate change consequences, such as rising temperatures and melting glaciers, have emphasized mitigation and adaptation actions. While moderating the severity of climate changes, precautionary human actions can also protect the natural environment and human societies. Furthermore, public and private collaboration can leverage resources and expertise, resulting in more impactful mitigation and adaptation actions for effective climate change responses. A coordinated and strategic approach is necessary in order to prioritize these actions across different scales, enabling us to maximize the benefits of climate action and ensure a coordinated response to this global challenge. This study examines the interplay between climate mitigation and adaptation actions in Greece and the European Union (EU). We conducted a literature search using relevant keywords. The search results were systematically approached in alignment with two pairs of thematic homologous entities, enabling the review of these literature findings to be organized and holistically investigated. In this respect, the three fields of agriculture, energy, and multi-parametric determinants of climate neutrality have emerged and been discussed. Our analysis also focused on the key implemented and planned mitigation and adaptation climate actions. Through this review, we identified the most important motives and challenges related to joint adaptation and mitigation actions. Our findings underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to climate action planning that incorporates both adaptation and mitigation measures.

Despite the institutional establishment of Regional Adaptation Action Plans (RAAPs), no systematic cross-regional assessment has examined their structure and implementation dynamics. The objective of this research is to categorize various adaptation strategies identified at the regional level within the 13 RAAPs of Greece and evaluate the current implementation status by introducing a three-pillar RAAP assessment approach including (i) typological classification of all RAAP measures (soft, development and hard), (ii) functional classification of sectoral measures applied to two indicative pilot regions (Crete and the Ionian Islands) and (iii) stakeholder insights on the implementation of regional adaptation. Each measure is assigned to its corresponding adaptation sector to enable cross-regional comparison. The implementation level is assessed through interviews with regional officials exploring criteria guiding measure selection, existing funding mechanisms and social consequences. These findings reveal the characteristics of early stage regional adaptation planning in Greece, where monitoring priorities, institutional capacity and sectoral exposure strongly shape adaptation strategies. Beyond descriptive mapping, the study introduces a structured multi-level analytical framework that offers a replicable tool for the comparative assessment of regional adaptation governance and advances research from policy-inventory approaches toward governance-oriented evaluation at the sub-national scale.

The scientific evidence clearly demonstrates that human activity plays a significant role in the changes to the world's climate, and it is crucial to take adaptive actions to mitigate the impacts of these changes. Effective climate adaptation requires raising awareness among a variety of key stakeholders, such as executives and staff in the public and private sectors, while assessing the incentives and actions they undertake and allowing them to act at various levels of engagement, ranging from global to local. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of awareness, perceived values, recommendations and expectations regarding climate change among key actors in Greece, focusing on the consequences of climate change in the country and the concurrent adaptation actions taken by stakeholders. A web-based survey was designed and conducted, and responses were systematically collected, categorized and analyzed. The key stakeholders believed that planning and implementing adaptation measures are crucial in addressing and minimizing the impacts of climate change. However, it was also noted that these plans and measures alone are insufficient to counteract the long-term, devastating consequences of climate change in Greece, and more comprehensive and targeted measures must be adopted. It was also concluded that the main obstacle to addressing and adapting to climate change in terms of public policy planning in Greece is the lack of human and financial resources, particularly among public institutions.

The growing frequency of climate-related events underscores the urgent need for effective adaptation strate- gies alongside mitigation efforts. This study investigates the motivations driving climate adaptation behaviors in Lithuania, a region less immediately affected by climate change impacts. Drawing on survey data from 1,013 respondents, the research applies established theoretical frameworks, including the Theory of Planned Behavior and Value-Belief-Norm Theory, to analyze economic, ecological and social motivators for adaptation actions. Results reveal that financial considerations, such as affordability and incentives, are the strongest driv- ers, followed by social influences, including interpersonal encouragement and moral satisfaction. Ecological motivations, while impactful, are predominantly linked to actions with visible local environmental benefits. Demographic analyses highlight age-related differences in motivations, with younger respondents display- ing higher ecological and economic concerns, and gendered patterns showing females prioritizing social and ecological values. The findings emphasize the importance of localized strategies that align interventions with dominant motivators and demographic preferences, fostering inclusive and effective climate adaptation policies. This study contributes a nuanced understanding of adaptation behaviors in less vulnerable regions, offering insights for targeted communication and policy design.

The tightly coupled social-ecological nature of fisheries calls for science and management to work in tandem across knowledge systems to address the complex issues impacting fisheries productivity and associated benefit flows. However, the pragmatics of how to accomplish this in an equitable manner are rarely discussed. In this paper we provide a real-world example of how to effectively and meaningfully weave ecological and social sciences with diverse knowledge and ways of knowing in order to revive an ancient Indigenous aquaculture practice to address climate-related resource management and community health concerns. Specifically, we present the detailed steps of our transdisciplinary clam garden site selection process: 1) create Technical Advisory Group, 2) develop initial exclusion map, 3) collect ecological data and conduct multi-criteria decision analysis, 4) collect socio-cultural data, and 5) select a site. Our methodical, stepwise framework included collaborative management through community participation and decision-making, and utilization of multiple perspectives. This resulted in a transparent, inclusive process that garnered community support and increased the likelihood for successful implementation. Our work is specific to the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community; however, the process can be adapted to address the place-based needs and values of other coastal communities. * Indigenous aquaculture practice addresses socio-ecological climate concerns. * Transdisciplinary framework uses diverse knowledge systems. * Real-world example of novel social-ecological site selection process. * Community participation in decision-making increases likelihood of success. * Process is adaptable to meet the needs and values of other communities.

The ability to discriminate between different actions is essential for action recognition and social interactions. Surprisingly previous research has often probed action recognition mechanisms with tasks that did not require participants to discriminate between actions, e.g., left-right direction discrimination tasks. It is not known to what degree visual processes in direction discrimination tasks are also involved in the discrimination of actions, e.g., when telling apart a handshake from a high-five. Here, we examined whether action discrimination is influenced by movement direction and whether direction discrimination depends on the type of action. We used an action adaptation paradigm to target action and direction discrimination specific visual processes. In separate conditions participants visually adapted to forward and backward moving handshake and high-five actions. Participants subsequently categorized either the action or the movement direction of an ambiguous action. The results showed that direction discrimination adaptation effects were modulated by the type of action but action discrimination adaptation effects were unaffected by movement direction. These results suggest that action discrimination and direction categorization rely on partly different visual information. We propose that action discrimination tasks should be considered for the exploration of visual action recognition mechanisms.

Balancing economy, social justice, and environmental protection while achieving decarbonisation and adapting to climate change poses a significant challenge for nations, regions, and cities. The Sustainable Development Goals and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans are widely used plans designed to oversee mitigation and adaptation actions. However, despite the common topics addressed by both, the absence of a common framework and the multiplicity of indicators proposed imply an extra effort in their implementation and evaluation, as well as the difficulty of evaluating peer benchmarking. Hence, this review focuses on identifying frequently proposed indicators, highlighting potential links among metrics and establishing a list of potential indicators. The bibliographic analysis conducted allowed the identification of more than 80 sources and 410 different metrics. The study reveals the diversity of approaches chosen to define a set of indicators and underscores the need for a harmonised framework to effectively compare and monitor European regions and cities. Moreover, thanks to this study, a list of potential indicators and the methodology for populating them was established, allowing better coherence among the initiatives and a starting point for small regional and local administrations that often struggle with the availability of data and resources.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has recently launched a state-of-the-art online climate risk profiling and adaptation tool to assist municipalities across South Africa to assess their risk and vulnerabilities, and respond by adapting settlements to climate change. The Green Book looks forwards to the year 2050 by projecting settlement growth combined with quantitative, scientific evidence of the likely impacts that climate change will have on South African towns and cities and its key resources. The tool provides appropriate adaptation measures to be considered for implementation towards the development of climate resilient settlements. The ultimate goal of the Green Book is to contribute to resilient, sustainable and liveable South African settlements through climate change adaptation. Co-funded by the Canadian International Development Research Centre and the CSIR and produced in collaboration with South Africa’s National Disaster Management Centre, the Green Book is the result of a 3-year initiative. More than 50 researchers and numerous stakeholders and reviewers were involved in producing the Green Book and reviewing its findings.

Purpose Although the use of instant messaging (IM) at work has been studied in the IS field, its effective use and impact on performance have not been adequately addressed. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of the effective use of IM at work by adapting Burton-Jones and Grange’s theory of effective use. Design/methodology/approach The authors introduce “Comprehensive IM policy” as a facilitator of adaptation and learning actions to improve the effective use of IM, which will improve communication quality and productivity. The impact of IM competence on effective use is also discussed. Based on a survey of 215 managers, this study applies the partial least square technique to test the research model. Findings The results indicate that comprehensive IM policy encourages adaptation and learning actions, which improve the effective use of IM and thereafter improve communication quality and productivity. Meanwhile, IM competence has a substitutive interaction effect with IM reconfiguration and self-learning on effective use. Originality/value The results refine the general theory of effective use and provide managers with an approach to leverage IM use at work for performance gains.