Regional Vulnerability to the Challenges of Climate Change and Energy Provision: Lessons Learned from Transdisciplinary Assessments in Austria and Germany

Uncertainty, context specificity and complexity in the fields of climate change and energy provision are best addressed by transdisciplinary research approaches involving the stakeholders and potential users of research results. In this article, we present transdisciplinary regional vulnerability assessments in three Austrian provinces and one German region. We highlight region-specific sub-challenges and the locations of key vulnerabilities. The phases of the assessment process, stakeholder involvement, types of knowledge included and transdisciplinary methods are discussed as well as the key outcomes of the assessments. We conclude that the heterogeneity of the involved stakeholders, the transdisciplinary methods as well as stakeholders’ “ownership” of, and social learning on, the regional vulnerability assessment improved its quality and societal relevance