The Wageningen University & Research associate professor studies the solution space for climate adaptation at the Wageningen Institute for Environment and Climate Research (WIMEK). And in his free time, he is a coordinating lead author for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). “It is important for governments to be able to see what is possible at present, where they need to make adjustments and what paths they can take to have more and better solutions available in the longer term. Only then can they develop a long-term policy and demonstrate political leadership”, emphasizes Biesbroek.

“Proactive steering is required to expand the solution space.” Governments can do this by amending legislation and regulations, earmarking funds or running information campaigns. But some processes cannot be controlled. “What do you do if public opinion changes and people become tired of all that climate hype? Or if costs have to be cut? Or if a political party with very different views comes to power?”

However, there are strategies for embedding a focus on a topic in legislation and regulations, and safeguarding it for the longer term. A good example is the Dutch Delta Plan, which is aimed at keeping the Netherlands safe from flooding and climate-proof, both now and in the long term. The Delta Act regulates the development and implementation of plans and the Delta Fund provides the financing. “This lets you institutionalize the solution space and preserve it for the longer term so that it is not at the mercy of the latest hype.”

We will have to take a lot of decisions in the next while to prepare for the coming hundred years, says Biesbroek. With complex issues like climate change, it is particularly important that governments identify the problems they could encounter and determine what adaptations are needed to cope with these problems.

The challenge presented by climate change is to decide whether we need to take a fundamentally different approach to things, says Biesbroek. In the case of the Netherlands, perhaps we should stop putting up buildings in low-lying areas and floodplains. “But is there the support for this? Perhaps people prefer to live near large cities and are willing to accept the associated risks”, suggests the policy scientist. Furthermore, some solutions only work if global warming remains limited. “You can raise dykes to reduce the risk of flooding but if sea levels eventually rise by two to four metres, you may need to consider other options. You could for example consider abandoning the Randstad metropolitan area in the west and building cities in higher-lying areas.”

The ‘climate crisis’ is now making the headlines and being taken seriously, receiving considerable attention from politicians and society at large. “There are always opposing forces, but broadly speaking the sense of urgency is growing. That is having a really positive effect on the solution space, both nationally and internationally.”

One problem limiting the solution space is the available funding for climate adaptation. “Many countries are willing in principle to take action, but it costs a lot of money, which they often don’t have.” The financing of solutions is a recurring issue that vulnerable countries repeatedly place on the international agenda. But there are no easy options. “The international mobilization of money for adaptation purposes is tricky, in particular for geopolitical reasons. But rich countries such as the Netherlands also have only limited funds available for adaptation and this is often seen as a key obstacle to accelerating the pace of adaptation.”