What can climate action look like in our everyday lives, and how can we make informed choices about the future we want? These were questions at the heart of the RethinkAction project, where researchers across Europe combined their expertise in climate and environmental sciences, behaviour and policy to explore how climate and land use can lead to both adaptation and mitigation solutions at local and societal levels. Their work has led to the development of the Rethink Action Assessment Platform: an interactive and user-friendly tool that helps people visualize the real-world impacts of climate strategies. We sat down with Dr. Robert Oakes and Kariuki Weru, two of the UNU-EHS experts that helped to develop the platform, to learn more:
What makes the RethinkAction Integrated Assessment Platform different from the climate action tools that are currently available?
What makes the platform different is that it is built to connect both citizens and policymakers through the same scientific foundation. We designed it to be accessible and engaging for non-experts, while still offering the depth needed for informed policy decisions, with science as a link to common ground.
How does the platform empower both citizens and policymakers to engage with climate adaptation and mitigation strategies?
Essentially, the platform empowers users by letting them explore the real impacts of climate strategies in an interactive, accessible way. They can simulate specific actions, such as reforestation or land-use changes, and immediately see their effects on climate, as well as other sectors. We have included six case studies from across the EU, each representing a different environmental context. For example, our case study in Almería in Spain focuses on arid regions. So, if users live in a similar setting, they can explore relevant strategies and outcomes. Due to the various environmental contexts between the case studies, whether you are a farmer in a dry region or a policymaker working in a coastal or highland area, you can choose the case that best matches your situation and test policies grounded in real data.
Can you share some insights from the Almería case study and how its unique challenges help shape the platform’s functionality?
In Almería, they are short of water, yet its horticulture is the main industry. Every year, the region produces between 2.5 and 3.5 million tons of the EU’s fruits and vegetables, but is almost a desert, really.
With our platform, farmers and policymakers, individually or together, can test different and more sustainable ways of growing crops in the context of climate change. Local and regional actors also have great opportunities to engage early as replicators. For example, next week we are holding a consultation with local stakeholders to demonstrate how to use the platform. Having already discussed risks and needs in previous sessions, this meeting will show how the platform helps users better understand the potential of land-use options and policies, supporting informed decisions and meaningful climate action.
If you were someone interested in using the platform to test a climate solution in, let’s say, your hometown, what would you focus on and why?
One would be able to test specific policies. Many of them relate to water, for example using water in a more sustainable way, because a lot of sectors use water: agriculture, tourism, residential industries, et cetera. What the platform does is show, out of a list of over 60 policies, which of them are applicable in your setting and what would be the range of outcomes. We undertook an extensive review of local, national and EU policies and then we came up with a list of 60+ policies that are generic enough to be applicable in a broader setting, but specific enough to be useful for certain climate change adaptation and mitigation scenarios. The platform helps people work out how to best make use of resources and the impacts of particular interventions and policies, based on up-to-date local and national level data.
In a nutshell, the RethinkAction Platform empowers both those affected by and those affecting land-use change to better understand the potential for climate adaptation and mitigation measures. The reason we are so excited about it is that it harnesses data and technology to enable the visualization and realization of participatory climate action.
