dr. A.M. (Anne) van Valkengoed

Subsidies for climate change adaptation

The goal of this project is to examine whether subsidies for climate change adaptation motivate people to take action. In collaboration with the Municipality of Breda, we examine people's perceptions of extreme weather, climate change, and adaptation behaviour, and study who applies for a subsidy scheme to implement adaptive measures. We conduct a longitudinal study amongst members of the general public, and also survey people who applied for the subsidy.

Read the reporting summarizing the results of the first wave of this project here.

What do we know about adaptation behaviour?

Adaptation to climate change refers to coping with or reducing the negative impacts of climate change. What motivates people to adapt? In this project, we summarized the findings of the current literature, using both meta-analytic and narrative literature review methods. The findings show that particularly perceptions of efficacy and social norms are important, but remain relatively understudied compared to variables such as risk perception and experiences with climate-related hazards. Moreover, the current literature is strongly based on studies from the United States and Australia. The results were also published in a background paper aimed at the general public supporting the Global Center on Adaptation's flagship report (2019).