In this opinion piece, we establish some key priorities for evidence-based governance to address the increasing threat of heatwave events in Europe, particularly for human health. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) [1], Europe is warming faster than the global average. The year 2020 was the warmest year in Europe since the instrumental records began, with the range of anomaly between 2.53˚C and 2.71˚C above the pre-industrial levels. Particularly high warming has been observed over eastern Europe, Scandinavia and the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. Climate change-related heatwaves are becoming a significant threat to human health and necessitate early action [2]. While financial resources and technological capacities are crucial to aid (local) governments in adapting to and proactively mitigating the threats posed by heatwaves, they are not enough [3]. Akin to flood responses, European countries must prepare for large-scale evacuations of vulnerable citizens (especially older adults living alone) from their homes. Here, we outline three priorities for Europe in the governance domain. These priorities encompass developing and rolling-out heat-health action plans, a stronger role for European Union institutions in regional heatwave governance, and creating a sense of urgency by developing innovative ways of communicating research findings to relevant policy makers and citizens.
The climate crisis is an urgent and complex global challenge, requiring transformative action from diverse stakeholders, including governments, civil society, and grassroots movements. Conventional top-down approaches to climate governance have proven insufficient (e.g. UNFCCC, COP events), necessitating a shift towards more inclusive and polycentric models that incorporate the perspectives and needs of diverse communities (Bliznetskaya, 2023; Dorsch & Flachsland, 2017). The independent, multidisciplinary approach of citizen-led activist groups can provide new insights and redefine challenges and opportunities for climate governance and regulation. Despite their important role in developing effective climate action, these citizen-led groups often face significant barriers to decision-making participation, including structural, practical, and legal challenges (Berry et al., 2019; Colli, 2021; Marquardt et al., 2022; Tayler & Schulte, 2019).
When corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a sensemaking process is assessed from a corporate governance perspective, this implies that stakeholders do not only influence companies by promoting and enforcing regulations and other corporate guidelines. They also influence companies by promoting regulation on influence pathways, by demanding that companies develop formal mechanisms that allow companies and stakeholders to discuss and in some cases agree on changes to principles and policies. This perspective suggests that regulation is an outcome of power relations and is, as such, a reflection of certain mental models. As such, mental models reveal the political bias in corporate governance perspectives. For this reason, CSR research needs to be clear about the underlying assumptions about corporate governance, and corporate governance research needs to disclose which mental models of CSR influence the outcomes. Taking a governance perspective on the development of mental models of CSR helps to understand the interaction between CSR and processes of sensemaking at the institutional, organizational and individual levels.
In the Netherlands, the Agri-Food and Water Top Sectors aim at climate neutral food systems that close loops in the food value chains from farm to fork, based on efficiency of natural resource management, optimum use of food, a reduced use of natural resources and less environmental pressure, and optimum use of residue streams. It is also in their ambitions to promote and market Dutch circular solutions in foreign countries, such as emergent economies. The transition to a circular economy in the food chain in emergent economies requires a radical transformation, in which an integrated approach is required. In this regard, Indonesia strives for green development representing an advantageous market opportunity for Dutch SME’s offering circular innovations on the food value chain. The consortium in this project would like to explore the opportunities for applying integrated approaches contributing to the transition to a circular economy in the food chain of emerging countries, in this case Indonesia, that could open market opportunities in the agri-food sector. The integrated approach includes innovations on effective use of natural resources (e.g., soil and water), innovations on ‘reshaping’ local organization and governance, and innovations on food/streams value chains.
Nature areas in North-West Europe (NWE) face an increasing number of visitors (intensified by COVID-19) resulting in an increased pressure on nature, negative environmental impacts, higher management costs, and nuisance for local residents and visitors. The high share of car use exaggerates these impacts, including peak pressures. Furthermore, the almost exclusive access by car excludes disadvantaged people, specifically those without access to a car. At the same time, the urbanised character of NWE, its dense public transport network, well-developed tourism & recreation sector, and presence of shared mobility providers offers ample opportunities for more sustainable tourism. Thus, MONA will stimulate sustainable tourism in and around nature areas in NWE which benefits nature, the environment, visitors, and the local economy. MONA will do so by encouraging a modal shift through facilitating sustainableThe pan-European Innovation Action, funded under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, aims to promote innovative governance processes ,and help public authorities in shaping their climate mitigation and adaptation policies. To achieve this aim, the GREENGAGE project will leverage citizens’ participation and equip them with innovative digital solutions that will transform citizen’s engagement and cities’ effectiveness in delivering the European Green Deal objectives for carbon neutral cities.Focusing on mobility, air quality and healthy living, citizens will be inspired to observe and co-create their cities by sensing their urban environments. The aim to complement, validate, and enrich information in authoritative data held by the public administrations and public agencies. This will be facilitated by engaging with citizens to co-create green initiatives and to develop Citizen Observatories. In GREENGAGE, Citizen Observatories will be a place where pilot cities will co-examine environmental issues integrating novel bottom-up process with top-down perspectives. This will provide the basis to co-create and co-design innovative solutions to monitor environmental problems at ground level with the help of citizens.With two interrelated project dimensions, the project aims to enhance intelligence applied to city decision-making processes and governance by engaging with citizen observations integrated with Copernicus, GEOSS, in-situ, and socio-economic intelligence, and by delivering innovative governance models based on novel toolboxes of decision-making methodologies and technologies. The envisioned citizens observatory campaigns will be deployed and fully demonstrated in 5 pilot engagements in selected European cities and regions including: Bristol (the United Kingdom), Copenhagen (Denmark), Turano / Gerace (Italy) and the region of Noord Brabant (the Netherlands). These innovation pilots aim to highlight the need for smart city governance by promoting citizen engagement, co-creation, gathering new data which will complement existing datasets and evidence-based decision and policymaking.
The project ‘Towards resilient leisure, tourism and hospitality (LTH) ecosystems in Europe’ addresses the critical problem of unsustainable practices in the tourism and travel industry. The LTH industry is ‘back on track’ after recovering from the global Covid-19 crisis. Destinations show increased numbers of international arrivals and rapid growth of tourism-related revenues. It is foreseen that cities like Amsterdam, but also vulnerable natural areas, will receive record numbers of visitors in the coming decade. The dominant economic model operating within the industry nonetheless prioritizes short-term gains, resulting in extreme exploitation of resources, labour, and local communities, evidenced by negative impacts in European destinations like Venice and the Canary Islands. The project aims to shift the industry’s focus to long-term sustainability, addressing systemic constraints and facilitating a transition that aligns with European priorities for a sustainable and just future. It builds vital connections between regional, national, and European research priorities by addressing and advocating for climate and social justice. Regionally, it investigates best practices across diverse tourism environments in Finland, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Scotland, and The Netherlands. Nationally, it challenges the status quo by proposing alternative governance frameworks that individual countries could adopt to encourage sustainable tourism practices. On a European scale, the project aligns with EU goals of climate action and sustainable development, supporting objectives of the European Green Deal and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims to build solid theoretical foundations necessary for a transition towards more resilient and environmentally and socially inclusive LTH ecosystems. Through integrating insights from multiple regions, the project transcends local boundaries and offers scalable solutions that can influence policy and industry standards at both national and European levels. The project's transdisciplinary nature ensures that proposed solutions are grounded in diverse eco-socioeconomic contexts, making them robust and adaptable.
