Climate Change in the Baltic Sea Region: A Cross-Country Analysis of Institutional Stakeholder Perceptions

Before climate change is considered in long-term coastal management, it is necessary to investigate how institutional stakeholders in coastal management conceptualize climate change, as their awareness will ultimately affect their actions. Using questionnaires in eight Baltic Sea riparian countries,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2012-09, Vol.41 (6), p.645-655
Main Authors: Piwowarczyk, Joanna, Hansson, Anders, Hjerpe, Mattias, Chubarenko, Boris, Karmanov, Konstantin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Atmospheric Sciences
attitudes and opinions
Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea region countries
Baltic States
Climate Change
Climate change adaptation
Climate change policy
Coastal management
Coastal zone management
Coasts
Decision making
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
economics
Environment
Environmental economics
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental impact
Environmental Management
Environmental surveys
Global warming
Greenhouse effect
Management decisions
managers
Marine ecosystems
Oceans and Seas
Perceptions
Physical Geography
Questionnaires
Sea level
Seas
Shoreline protection
Stakeholders
Sustainable development
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Summary:Before climate change is considered in long-term coastal management, it is necessary to investigate how institutional stakeholders in coastal management conceptualize climate change, as their awareness will ultimately affect their actions. Using questionnaires in eight Baltic Sea riparian countries, this study examines environmental managers’ awareness of climate change. Our results indicate that problems related to global warming are deemed secondary to short-term social and economic issues. Respondents agree that problems caused by global warming will become increasingly important, but pay little attention to adaptation and mitigation strategies. Current environmental problems are expected to continue to be urgent in the future. We conclude that an apparent gap exists between decision making, public concerns, and scientific consensus, resulting in a situation in which the latest evidence rarely influences commonly held opinions.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-012-0327-9