DISTENDER addressed the need for integrated and robust mitigation adaptation policies under climate and socio-economic uncertainty through novel and applied analysis of the effects of climate and socio-economic change across multiple scenarios, sectors and scales over the long term. Using localised, small-scale models and scenarios, the project co-created potential strategies with local stakeholders for the core case studies: Austria, North-east of The Netherland, South-West Iberian Peninsula for Dehesa (Spain) and Montado (Portugal), Metropolitan City of Turin (Italy) and Guimaraes (Portugal) and having followers to promote the replication: Alcorcon (Spain), LVIV (Ukraine), Miskolc (Hungary), Nova Gorica (Slovenia), and Valencia (Spain).
DISTENDER tackles the challenge of aligning climate policy across different governance levels and time horizons. By evaluating cross-sectoral synergies and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation, the project offers a comprehensive framework, that bridges the gap in policy integration, guiding the creation of robust, multisectoral and multiscale climate solutions and their viability in different socio-economic scenarios
DISTENDER takes a holistic, flexible and participatory approach, recognising that responses to climate change must be tailored to local socio-economic and environmental contexts. A central feature of DISTENDER was its strong participatory dimension, which promoted co-creation and active stakeholder involvement in all phases of the project.
The local climate scenarios were adapted to reflect local realities and sectors, producing spatially explicit narratives linking socio-economic trends, land use and climate impacts. The resulting integrated scenarios provide valuable insight into how climate change will affect regional development trajectories. Localized scenarios are integrated in the modelling activities in key sectors to assess the effects of climate and socio-economic change (separate and in their combination) on air quality, health, urban heat, energy demand, water resources and agriculture (AFOLU: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use) These analyses provided quantitative estimates of future risks, highlighting both the magnitude of potential impacts and opportunities for adaptation and mitigation. This modelling framework was also used to inform an expert-driven evaluation of the effectiveness of adaptation strategies, such as green infrastructure, improved water retention, and changes in land management, revealing their overall performance across a range of criteria. The integration of these multi-sectoral assessments enabled the development of spatially explicit vulnerability maps and the identification of robust strategies to improve resilience in different future scenarios. These outcomes were refined into technical and policy recommendations in collaboration with stakeholders to ensure their feasibility, relevance and consistency with existing local and European policies.
One of the main outputs of DISTENDER is its decision support system (DSS,
https://distender.eu/news/distender-decision-support-system-tool-turning-climate-data-into-actionable-strategies/(opens in new window)) an innovative and user-friendly tool that brings together all the project results in a single platform. The DSS allows decision-makers to visualise, compare and prioritise adaptation and mitigation options through multi-criteria analysis.
The DISTENDER teams developed protocols for identifying relevant actors, structuring workshops, and guiding discussions on future climate and socio-economic scenarios. They ensured that the jointly created adaptation and mitigation options reflected governance arrangements, behavioural constraints, and relevant institutional capacities at the local level.
