Susanne Hanger-Kopp

Last Name

Hanger-Kopp

First Name

Susanne

ORCID

0000-0001-7223-9991

Organisational unit

09451 - Patt, Anthony G. / Patt, Anthony G.

Show all metadata

Search Results

Publications 1 - 10 of 11

Review of the food, water and biodiversity nexus in India
Martin, Juliette C.G.; Kanade, R.; Bhadbhade, Neha; et al. (2024)
Environmental Science & Policy
Nexus research can help address issues arising at the intersection of traditionally independently treated management, policy, and research areas. While an extensive body of literature and reviews have been published on the water, food and energy nexus, biodiversity is less commonly featured in food and water nexus research, particularly in India. India hosts a large proportion of the world’s biological diversity. At the same time, it is facing one of the world's highest habitat conversion rates, among others for agricultural production, as well as increasing water scarcity. Hence, the integration of biodiversity considerations into food and water nexus management and governance decisions is particularly critical in India. Here, we explore linkages at the food, water and biodiversity (FWB) nexus in India using a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. A total of 208 nexus linkages were extracted from 55 articles and mapped using a qualitative systems mapping approach. Results show a strong interdependence between all three nexus nodes, with biodiversity exhibiting the highest number of linkages across the system (137 linkages), followed by water (131 linkages) and food (120 linkages). Our results reflect the state-of-the-art of research on biodiversity at the food-water nexus in India and highlight the importance of better understanding the linkages and tradeoffs at India's FWB nexus.
Public preferences for phasing-out fossil fuels in the german building and transport sectors
Tröndle, Tim; Annaheim, Jasmin; Hoppe, Janna; et al. (2023)
Environmental Research Communications
In most of Europe, the decarbonisation of the building and transport sectors lags behind emission targets. Achieving full decarbonisation requires not only the diffusion of net-zero emission technologies but also the phase-out of technologies that emit greenhouse gases (GHG). However, implementing policy changes in these sectors can have an immediate and significant impact on people's day-to-day life, leading to a higher risk of political backlash, as exemplified by the yellow vest movement in France. In this study, we investigate public preferences for phase-out policy packages in both sectors in Germany by conducting two conjoint experiments with 1,777 respondents in March 2022. Respondents collectively evaluated a total of 17,770 policy packages per sector, specifically targeting the phase-out of fossil fuel-based heating systems and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). We find that respondents favour earlier phase-out dates for both technologies, but the type of preferred instruments varies: while regulatory instruments like bans are preferred for heating systems, economic instruments like taxes are preferred for ICEVs. These preferences are even more pronounced in people most concerned about climate change. In addition, we find that people with higher knowledge about sector emissions tend to demonstrate higher acceptance of policy interventions and that supportive measures significantly enhance the attractiveness of policy packages. Our findings can inform the design of phase-out policy packages, potentially increasing their acceptability and political feasibility.
How path dependency manifests in flood risk management: observations from four decades in the Ennstal and Aist catchments in Austria
Seebauer, Sebastian; Thaler, Thomas; Hanger-Kopp, Susanne; et al. (2023)
Regional Environmental Change
Path dependency occurs when a contingent event predetermines what further steps can be taken and self-reinforcing mechanisms lock-in any further development on a sub-optimal trajectory. Path dependency is a prominent concept in the adaptation pathways literature, but insufficiently defined and operationalised. The present paper empirically tracks all constitutive elements of path dependency for four decades of flood risk management (FRM) in two alpine mountain regions in Austria, the Ennstal and Aist river catchments, using a mixed-methods approach. FRM governance has a critical role whether decisions lead to path dependency. Lock-in manifests not just in technical structures, but also in inertia of incumbent actor coalitions and management paradigms. Sub-optimality is hard to assess for lack of clearly defined protection targets; however, it appears in the ways that structural measures are implemented—too little, too late or with negative impacts on nature conservation. Past floods do not qualify as contingent events, as they have not fundamentally changed FRM practice. By contrast, technological and institutional shifts over longer periods, such as digital hazard maps and EU directives, have gradually reoriented FRM strategies. Institution-based self-reinforcing mechanisms are more prevalent than technology-based self-reinforcing mechanisms. Established actor coalitions combined with institutional density illustrate how those in charge uphold a path to defend their position, power and resources. Our recommendations for how to overcome path dependency in FRM governance are: encourage niche experiments, link FRM more closely with climate change adaptation, revise the national policy framework towards polycentric governance approaches and improve professional training.
Exploring procedural justice in stakeholder identification using a systematic mapping approach
Lemke, Leonard Kwhang-Gil; Beier, Julia; Hanger-Kopp, Susanne (2024)
Environmental Science & Policy
In the face of complex societal challenges, stakeholder participation/engagement and knowledge co-production have become increasingly important to the sustainability sciences. Why and how these stakeholders are identified frequently remains unclear, which raises concerns regarding rigor and procedural justice of research processes. Against this background, this paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of how and why procedural justice issues materialize in stakeholder identification and assess the extent to which they can be addressed. We build on proposals for stakeholder identification in the academic literature that integrate three common approaches: analytical, sampling, and participant-based approaches. Further zooming into these approaches and related methods through a procedural justice lens, we show how the inclusion of stakeholders, the influence of stakeholders on the identification process, and the transparency of the overall identification process matter. We draw upon our own case study experiences to share the lessons learned, including the benefits of systematic mapping approaches for stakeholder identification. We conclude that stakeholder mapping facilitates accurate documenting of identification procedures and supports iterative refinement and adjustments of the stakeholders identified, whilst also creating reflexive potential to address intuitive and past experience-based practices, ultimately opening promising avenues to advance procedural justice in stakeholder identification.
What qualitative systems mapping is and what it could be: integrating and visualizing diverse knowledge of complex problems
Hanger-Kopp, Susanne; Lemke, Leonard Kwhang-Gil; Beier, Julia (2024)
Sustainability Science
Researchers in sustainability science deal with increasingly complex problems that cross administrative, geographical, disciplinary, and sectoral boundaries, and are characterized by high stakes and deep uncertainties. This in turn creates methodological challenges to frame, structure, and solve complex problems in science and practice. There is a long tradition in visualizing systems as diagrams, and concept and cognitive maps, but there is insufficient differentiation and comparison between these methods and no clear umbrella term has yet been established. Against this background, we systematically review three foundational methods from different academic disciplines-causal diagrams, concept mapping, and cognitive mapping. Comparing and contrasting them, we facilitate a coherent understanding of qualitative systems mapping (QSM) as an umbrella term. We then proceed to explore the evident intersections between these methods to showcase some of the inter- and transdisciplinary opportunities and challenges crystallizing in integrated QSM approaches. Finally, we share case study insights from the food-water-biodiversity nexus in Austria and elaborate on some of the methodological nuances to data integration in QSM. Overall, with this overview paper, we lay the groundwork for a systematic, transparent, and yet flexible development and application of QSM methods to support mixed-methods research design and clear case study documentation, as well as fostering effective inter- and transdisciplinary communication in sustainability science. Further research needs to explore these QSM applications in depth across alternative sustainability science contexts, particularly with respect to efficient and rigorous protocols for knowledge and data integration vis-a-vis complex problems and transdisciplinary research processes.
Decision spaces in agricultural risk management: a mental model study of Austrian crop farmers
Hanger-Kopp, Susanne; Palka, Marlene (2022)
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Drought has become a dominant climate risk both around the world and in Europe, adding to the already challenging task of farming and governing the agricultural sector under climate change. Drought risk management is extremely complex. Apart from irrigation, most drought risk management options have more than one goal and may potentially have negative trade-offs with other risk management objectives. Moreover, government regulations and market mechanisms influence farmers' decision-making. However, previous studies, both in developed and in developing countries, have predominantly focused on attitudinal and structural influencing factors on farmers' risk management behavior. In this paper, we comprehensively investigate farmers' decision spaces with respect to drought risk management. We address two applied research questions: (1) What are farmers' preferred drought risk management measures? (2) From a farmer's perspective, what are the dominant factors influencing drought risk management decisions? We find that farmers primarily think of production-based rather than financial measures with respect to drought risk management. At the same time, natural and technical constraints and enabling factors dominate their mental decision space, followed by public and private institutional aspects. This research provides a basis for the design of integrated and holistic drought risk management policy and the drought risk governance needed for sustainable use of land and water resources such as needed to address systemic risks and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, we introduce a novel approach using mental models extracted from interviews to explore cognitive representations of farmers' decision spaces. This approach has the potential to complement mainstream research using standardized surveys and behavioral models to analyze drivers of risk management.
Climate-resilient strategy planning using the SWOT methodology: A case study of the Japanese wind energy sector
Bachmann, Lisa; Lex, Ricarda; Regli, Florian; et al. (2024)
Climate Risk Management
As climate change leads to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, industry stakeholders and policymakers must assess their business strategies, practices, and entire sector policies under these uncertain conditions. Much recent research has integrated quantitative climate risk modeling into frameworks to engage policymakers and inform adaptation decisions in a general way, but relatively little attention has been devoted to extending this to strategic business and investment decisions. This falls short of identifying economic opportunities and threats in a wider socio-economic context, such as the development of new technologies or evolving political and regulatory environments. Here, a methodology is developed to integrate quantitative climate risk modeling with SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) which is commonly used in business and investment strategic planning. This moves the focus from avoidance of negative outcomes to prospective planning in an evolving environment. This methodology is illustrated with a case study of the Japanese wind energy sector, using open-access data and the open-source climate risk-assessment platform CLIMADA. This Climate risk assessment indicates threats from increasing damages to the wind energy infrastructure, as well as the profitability of typhoon-resistant wind turbines under present and future climate. Expert interviews and extensive literature research on opportunities and threats, however, also show that the transition towards renewable energies faces restrictive market dynamics, political and social hurdles, which set external conditions surpassing physically-informed dimensions. Beyond this illustrative case study, the methodology developed here bridges established concepts in climate risk modeling and strategic management and thus can be used to identify industry-centric ways forward for climate-resilient planning across a wide range of economic sectors.
Addressing path dependencies in decision-making processes for operationalizing compound climate-risk management
Thaler, Thomas; Hanger-Kopp, Susanne; Schinko, Thomas; et al. (2023)
iScience
The need for a compound risk governance system and management practice is argued in this paper. We find that, historically, risk management strategies have been developed for single hazards and are often subject to path dependency. It is thus difficult to adapt them to a situation that has compound risks. The lack of attention to compound risks in current risk management practices often leads to potential side effects—positive or negative—on other risks and can also result in related management strategies being overlooked. This can ultimately cause barriers to larger transformational adaptation efforts and lead to the intensification of existing societal inequalities or to the creation of new ones. To alert policy- and decision-makers to the need to move toward compound-risk management strategies, we argue that risk management must explicitly highlight various elements of path dependencies, the positive and negative side effects of single-hazard risk management, the appearance of new social inequalities, and the intensification of existing ones.
Climate justice discussions need new participants and new audiences
Mintz-Woo, Kian; Zimm, Caroline; Brutschin, Elina; et al. (2025)
Nature Climate Change
Justice considerations in climate research
Zimm, Caroline; Mintz-Woo, Kian; Hanger-Kopp, Susanne; et al. (2024)
Nature Climate Change
Climate change and decarbonization raise complex justice questions that researchers and policymakers must address. The distributions of greenhouse gas emissions rights and mitigation efforts have dominated justice discourses within scenario research, an integrative element of the IPCC. However, the space of justice considerations is much larger. At present, there is no consistent approach to comprehensively incorporate and examine justice considerations. Here we propose a conceptual framework grounded in philosophical theory for this purpose. We apply this framework to climate mitigation scenarios literature as proof of concept, enabling a more holistic and multidimensional investigation of justice. We identify areas of future research, including new metrics of service provisioning essential for human well-being.

Publications 1 - 10 of 11

Susanne Hanger-Kopp

Last Name

First Name

ORCID

Organisational unit

Filters

Search Results