RECEIPT was implemented in three distinct pillars.
The first was the elaboration of the concept of “physical climate storylines”. The project team developed protocols for the construction of climate storylines, engagement rules to connect them to real world problems, visualization techniques, and principles to perturb storylines to “virtual” counterfactual conditions. We documented several steps in the scientific literature and evolved the knowledge on the power and limitations of the storyline approach, the ways to connect multiple disciplines, the ethical considerations of inevitable subjective assumptions on conditions, actors, and metrics.
The second pillar was the compilation of more than a dozen sector-oriented storylines. We contacted potential stakeholders that provided the justification of selected events, we connected impact cascades and gave information on responses and policies that could be explored. The project team has set-up multiple model frameworks connecting physical, mathematical, and socio-economic process representations. Early career scientists were sent to partner institutes to cross disciplinary bridges, and quite a few multi-disciplinary teams jointly conceived scientific publications, web-based visualizations, and policy-oriented factsheets to document these practical implementations of the conceptual approach.
The third pillar addresses European policy making, by formulating recommendations in policy briefs and public conferences. The risk assessment conducted using the storyline approach represents an evolutionary advancement in the theoretical underpinnings and practice of assessing the implications of climate related hazards and risks. Building resilience to complex and interconnected risks is crucial for EU prosperity and cohesion. Navigating future protracted and overlapping crises requires grasping interconnected causes and embracing a comprehensive approach to climate risks. Climate storylines delve into alternative ways that past climate extremes could have unfolded. By combining the robustness of forensic risk diagnostics with foresight techniques, storytelling climate risks enhance advanced risk anticipation and the efficacy of stress tests. Collaboratively designed and standardized storylines of climate risks, developed in partnership with risk modelers, public authorities, and regulators, can significantly enhance climate intelligence to drive transformative change.
Despite the inherent need to embark on a limited subset of stories being told and policy perspectives being targeted, RECEIPT does convey the overarching message that Europe is larger than its geographical extent, and also that climate impacts originating far outside its geographical borders challenge European long-term resilience. It conveys the need to invest in policy coherence across multiple domains and appreciate the notion that climate change is not a domain but an all-encompassing driver for socio-economic change. It always has been and always will be. Action is required.
