Keywords

Introduction

According to the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA), Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with heatwaves posing threats to ecosystems, infrastructures, and health at various socio-geographical levels (EEA, 2024). Despite increasing attempts (e.g., https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/news-archive), EUCRA finds that European policies fail to cope adequately with growing climate risks, calling for urgent actions. Similar concerns are echoed in IPCC (2023), highlighting adaptation gaps like unequal access to cooling solutions and short-term fragmented interventions. To better understand risks and adaptation strategies, EUCRA advocates for an integrated policy approach, focusing on vulnerable groups (e.g., elderly, gender-sensitive, those in poorly built dwellings) and regions, like Southern Europe. The document emphasises that reducing climate risk goes beyond traditional health policies, citing spatial planning and infrastructure management as keys. Our chapter builds on this, offering insights for future EU policies with a focus on cooperation and social justice (EEA, 2024, 33). We innovatively suggest broader cooperation beyond Europe, especially with areas experienced in heat adaptation in the Global South (Nagendra, 2018).

In this chapter, we first propose a reframing of adaptation oriented towards identification, analysis, and translation of strategies by drawing on our multiple disciplinary perspectives. Second, we use this interdisciplinary framing to better understand heatwave responses in India as examples of adaptation to climate change. We pay specific attention to nature-oriented, place-based, and community-driven strategies applied to vulnerable and deprived urban areas. Third, based on the examples, we present guiding principles for translating adaptation strategies between the Global South and the EU which centre mutual learning, interconnectedness, and both social and epistemic (concerning knowledge and understanding) justice.

Interdisciplinary Methodology

Across these three phases, we systematically used an interdisciplinary approach, aimed at linking and integrating ideas, concepts, methods, and research practices. Knowledge integration was fundamental, as we co-developed an interdisciplinary framework for adaptation during several dedicated events. Specifically, we performed a conceptual and comparative analysis of the different disciplinary meanings of adaptation followed by integration into a new definition oriented towards practical adaptation goals. After initial individual literature analysis, we performed collaboration-oriented activities, which included table games involving image association to stimulate creative thinking, and uncover epistemic differences, as well as co-creation of an art poster through image design and exaptation which helped us build skills in communication, co-design, and co-production. These skills were subsequently used for discussing translation, selecting suitable case studies, and collective writing. In the process, continuous feedback, constant evaluations, and reflective sessions proved pivotal. We did not explicitly strive for consensus but attempted to appreciate diverse ideas and balance them against one another and prior assumptions—a process referred to as “interdisciplinary learning” (Mansilla, 2010).

Reframing Adaptation

Adaptation is a pillar of climate action (Orlove, 2022). The concept of adaptation is used by policymakers, local organisations, and researchers in STEM and SSH, all of whom we engage with through this work. The EU’s adaptation strategy refers to a set of measures developed to cope with adverse impacts of existing climate conditions and variability. The IPCC provides a widely accepted definition of adaptation, centred on broad characterisation: “In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effect” (IPCC, 2023). Various types of adaptation are separately distinguished, including reactive, private and public, autonomous and planned. For each type, capacities, benefits, and costs must be robustly interpreted, compared, and operationalised. For example, technological solutions, such as air conditioning to face heat, raise concerns about energy demands and conflicts with climate mitigation goals (Mastrucci et al., 2023).

Furthermore, when it comes to climate change adaptation efforts, a closer look at the literature reveals epistemological and ethical concerns. Reasonings from SSH are often not accounted for within the STEM research on adaptation. There is also insufficient integration of diverse knowledge into policy development (Crowther et al., 2023). From a practical perspective, locally-guided and context-specific measures require more development to sufficiently address climate change exposure and vulnerability at both individual and community levels (IPCC, 2023). Despite evident progress, adaptation gaps persist by way of ephemeral benefits, fragmentation, inequality, and systemic barriers (IPCC, 2023; Orlove, 2022).

We argue that misdirected adaptation action refers to the lack of a framework which accounts for understanding and interpreting the complexity of strategies from local to global (Orlove, 2022). For this reason, we propose an integrated conceptual framework where disciplines such as Biology, including Evolutionary Biology, Social Sciences in a Sustainability context, and Philosophy of Science highlight different and complementary aspects of adaptation for practical developments. Specifically:

  • Evolutionary Biology emphasises the way populations persist and change over long periods through consistent exploration of options which promote survival and compatibility with the environment (Lewontin, 1978).

  • Social Sciences in a Sustainability context allow capturing human behaviour and social interactions, cultural practices, societal structures, and power dynamics and how these shape and interact with adaptation processes (Shrivastava et al., 2020).

  • Philosophy of Science, with its recent notions of adaptivity and adaptation, underlines that both natural and social systems actively engage with the environment in a continuous process that not only involves stability and passive response to a perturbation but implies innovation and reorganisation (Menatti et al., 2022).

Through a process of knowledge integration, we provide a new definition of adaptation, which allows the formulation of effective policies:

Adaptation should be reframed as processes which proactively engage with disrupting climate events and involve adopting situated and relational long-term practices relating people and their ecological, social, and historical environments.

Every process of adaptation implies the improvement of a social system to its environment and should be analysed via local and global lenses (see also Menatti et al., 2022; Simonet & Duchemin, 2010).

The main policy-oriented implications of our new definition are:

  • Adaptation is always context-dependent due to peoples’ continuous engagement with ecological, social, and historical environments.

  • Adaptation involves situated social practices and interests which policy must initially account for and subsequently evolve with.

  • Adaptation pathways involve a dialogue between local and global perspectives.

We used this new framework as a lens to understand and learn from three Indian examples of adaptation practices.

Understanding Heatwave Adaptation in India

We focus our attention on India because of its success in adapting to heatwaves and because of our team’s direct experiences and affiliations, which offer unique access to insights on India’s heatwave solutions. Despite the enormity of the problem, with increases in frequency, duration, and intensity of heatwaves over the past decade in both areas, India’s heat-related mortality rate is much lower relative to population than that of European countries (Ballester et al., 2023). This difference can be attributed to long-term evolution of heat adaptive strategies in response to extreme summers which are now rooted in India’s culture and traditions. In more recent times, these include ceiling fans and desert air coolers as effective and low-energy strategies.

The EU is interested in strategies at the intersection of the social and ecological (EEA, 2013). However, our reframed concept of adaptation suggests that the social and ecological are intertwined with the historical. India provides many examples of strategies, effective and long-term oriented, which capture the alignment between the EU’s interests and our interdisciplinary adaptation framework. Here we illustrate three strategies employed to adapt to urban heat, which focus on the revival of traditional climate-sensitive architecture, nature-based solutions, and women empowerment in vulnerable and deprived communities. Although these adaptation strategies have been shaped by specific climatic, ecological, and societal conditions, elements of their success may be translatable to European contexts.

Jaali Fenestrations: Revival of Traditional Climate-Sensitive Architecture

Traditional architecture from the hot regions of India provides thermal comfort by passive or natural cooling through various mechanisms, including shade and cross ventilation (Gupta, 1984). One such architectural element is jaali fenestrations, a latticed framework with intricate patterns of perforations which protects from the direct glare of the sun, but allows ventilation and natural light, and is aesthetically associated with Indian culture and history (Prasad et al., 2022). Recently, jaali are being revived in urban buildings for private dwellings and public spaces. The use of jaali appeals to both cultural values and climate interests, being an affordable, low-energy alternative to AC (Azmi, 2022).

Ashwath Kattes: Sacred Trees as Social Spaces and Nature-Based Solution for Heat Alleviation

Reverence and worship of trees, especially Ficus benghalensis and Ficus religiosa with their broad canopies and abundant shade, is widely prevalent across India (Nagendra & Mundoli, 2019). The Ashwath Kattes in Bengaluru city are enshrined spaces under an Ashwath tree (F. religiosa) which are protected from rapid urbanisation because they are held sacred. At Ashwath Kattes, a raised platform around each tree allows people to gather to meet or rest, and small vendors to sell their goods while simultaneously serving as refugia from extreme heat, especially for people in deprived communities living in cramped spaces within the city (Keswani, 2017). Studies in Bengaluru city have shown the significant potential for urban microclimate amelioration of street trees, which can reduce ambient air temperatures, road surface temperatures, and SO2 levels (Vailshery et al., 2013), and urban green spaces, whose cooling effects can spread far beyond their boundaries (Shah et al., 2021).

Mahila Housing Trust: Women Empowerment in Deprived Communities

Mahila Housing Trust (MHT), where “Mahila” translates to “Women” in Hindi, is a successful grassroots women’s organisation, established in 1994 by a union of impoverished, self-employed women workers to improve housing and infrastructure in Gujarat state (https://www.mahilahousingtrust.org/). More recently, MHT has been collaborating with engineers, architects, and policymakers as it works proactively towards alleviating the impact of rising temperatures on the health of disadvantaged groups. Under their Climate Resilience Programme, MHT empowers women by training them to become Climate Saathis (partners), who visit various communities and households to raise residents’ awareness and bolster resilience by advocating for climate-friendly solutions such as energy-efficient household appliances and facilitating the adoption of solar reflective paints for cooler roofs. The MHT programme, which exemplifies the feminist movement to face climate change (Turquet et al., 2023) received the prestigious 2019 United Nations Global Climate Action Awards at COP25, and today continues its work across India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

The Indian mix of traditional and contemporary adaptation strategies for heatwaves offers several learning possibilities (Fig. 4.1), discovered through the intersection of disciplines. The successes achieved through empowering communities, especially women, and increasing residents’ awareness of climate change are understood through the joint lens of Social Ecology with Philosophy of Science, which focuses on knowledge, perspective, and justice. Similarly, through pairing the disciples of Biology and History, green spaces and traditional climate-sensitive architecture are revealed as valued sources of affordable, low-energy solutions for disadvantaged communities. These examples show how the combination of STEM and SSH within an interdisciplinary analysis can provide innovative knowledge for guiding adaptation actions. In the next section, we consider the theoretical and practical steps to apply this knowledge to the European context.

Fig. 4.1
figure 1

Graphic by Corey Bunce

Interdisciplinary adaptation framework as a magnifying lens which we used to understand adaptation to climate change in India. Following examination of multiple “Adaptation strategies” for extreme temperatures, a series of “Learning possibilities” for the EU emerged which highlight crucial “Approaches to global interrelations”.

Full size image

Translating Adaptation for Europe

Global sharing of adaptation strategies may be pivotal for successful climate action. Existing experience from different regions can fill significant gaps in knowledge and understanding and drive innovation. However, knowledge transfer from one situation (study case) to another (target case) faces considerable challenges, making it a highly debated issue within sustainability sciences (e.g., Adler et al., 2018; Cartwright, 2012). Assessment of the potential for transfer between cases is often limited by unseen differences and misalignment of researcher and policymaker interests. In addition, premature application of study results and insufficient consideration of local needs, capacities, and values can result in adaptation action failure or even maladaptation.

For this reason, along with our reconceptualisation of adaptation, we see knowledge transfer as only part of a more complex process, “Translation”. In linguistics, translation consists of the interpretation and articulation of meaning across language contexts. Similarly, for climate action research, rather than mere transfer, we see translation as a process that involves the extraction of knowledge from a source context followed by application within a target context. We can ask, how can India’s successful climate responses be translated into successful climate action in the EU and vice versa? We propose that translation involves an interdisciplinary examination of both situations so that common ground can be found and solutions shared intergeographically and interculturally through reimagining practices and tailoring policy according to local options and resources.

As a team fulfilling these guidelines, we re-examined our examples of heatwave adaptation to assess the potential for translation between India and similar situations in the EU. Based on our understanding of the ways each case constitutes successful adaptation within India, we identified policy opportunities for EU urban areas within and across individual, community, and national scales:

  • Empowering communities, specifically women, to build infrastructure and resources for transformative change leads to multi-level capacities for climate change awareness and adaptation action.

  • Increasing green spaces and native nature-based solutions in disadvantaged communities is a way to combat heat while promoting social cohesion and cultural engagement.

  • Ensuring access to affordable, climate-sensitive solutions which appeal to traditional and historical architecture allows communities to find strategies which fit socio-cultural, environmental, and economic specificities.

In line with our adaptation framework, these opportunities involve relational and context-sensitive structures. For translation, the Climate-ADAPT website tool1 acknowledges that “adaptation must be tailored to the scale required by the climate change challenge (e.g., national/regional/local/sectoral/cross-border) and solutions need to be modified for individual situations, also addressing responsibilities and financing”. However, there are scant resources to help researchers perform the task of translation.

Our analysis is a first attempt which shows that to face heatwaves, the EU should analyse contexts from an interdisciplinary perspective, relating Social Sciences, Philosophy of Science, and STEM fields. Consequently, the resulting policies will prioritise socio-spatial vulnerabilities whose understanding enables contextual, affordable, awareness-driven, and nature-based interventions. Epistemic perspectives from the Global South can be a source of learning, inspiration, and diverse knowledge. We emphasise in this sense the opportunity for mutual learning and justice between the Global North and Global South.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Increasing temperatures and heatwaves in Europe pose imminent threats to ecosystems, infrastructures, and health. In this chapter, we have argued that accomplishing the EU's goals for adaptation to climate change, and meeting the challenges raised by the EUCRA, requires a reframing of the concept of “adaptation”, in particular to address risks faced by vulnerable populations. Through an interdisciplinary process, we developed an optimal reframing which understands adaptation as consisting of situated and relational long-term processes involving people and their ecological, social, and historical environments.

To demonstrate the value of our interdisciplinary adaptation framework, we focused our attention on adaptation strategies in India, drawing on the similarity between the current heat crisis in Southern Europe and India's history of extreme summers. We showed how practices within India, including historical architecture and green spaces as well as efforts in women empowerment, can be understood as learning possibilities for Europe. This analysis shows how the EU can benefit from drawing upon the Global South for its adaptation policies.

In order to develop European policies from adaptation successes in the Global South, we outlined a framework for “translation” which recognises the relational and context-sensitive aspects of case knowledge. We identified policy opportunities which appear at the intersection of epistemic perspectives and scales, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinarity in the construction of adaptation resources and tools. Moreover, our results demonstrate the potential for the EU to overcome challenges of translation by engaging in global collaboration through frameworks of interconnectedness, mutual learning, and social and epistemic justice (Fig. 4.1).

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://climate-adapt.eea.europa.eu/en/knowledge/tools/adaptation-support-tool/step-0-3