Adapting to extreme weather events: perspectives of social actors

Climate change is expected to have an impact on the likelihood of the occurrence and duration of extreme weather events. Climate change adaptation – and especially adaptation to changes in extreme weather events – has a regionally, or even locally, varying focus. In this paper we explore the perspectives of different sectors in the Netherlands with respect to adaptation to (changes in) extreme weather events. The paper reports on a set of 41 in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in different sectors in the Netherlands, using the repertory grid technique. The results were statistically analyzed, to identify the following: (a) the perspectives that stakeholders hold as most important for adaptation to extreme weather events; (b) the determinants of different perspectives on extreme weather events. The results indicate that differences in perspectives were not closely related to different sectors the interviewees belonged to. The level of concern and level of informedness influenced the ways interviewees perceive adaptation priorities for extreme weather events, and especially their prior participation to related events, such as workshops.