NCCS-Impacts projects

The NCCS-Impacts programme is designed in the form of several interlinked projects on climate impacts, which will create added value for actors in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

All projects include the two cross-cutting themes of 'Social justice' and 'Extreme events'. The CH2018 Climate Scenarios for Switzerland and the Hydro-CH2018 Hydrological Scenarios further provide a common data base and are a key cornerstone for the successful implementation of the projects.

Public invitation to tender for the 'Socio-economic scenarios for Switzerland' project: 23.03.-12.05.2023

An invitation to tender in open procedure for the 'Socio-economic scenarios for Switzerland' project was published on 23 March 2023. The bidding period ended on 12 May 2023.

Projects in detail:

Socio-economic scenarios for Switzerland for risk analyses and adaptation and mitigation strategies

Project goal:
Developing socio-economic scenarios for Switzerland, which vary according to sociological, economic, and political developments.

Project management:
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)

Key Questions:

• What methods and concepts are used to develop the socio-economic scenarios, and which experts are involved, and how are they to be involved?
• What socio-economic developments are likely to shape Switzerland in the future, how do they differ in temporal dimensions (2035, 2060), and how and which of Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives can be derived for Switzerland?
• How can results be turned into customised and practical decision support tools and services for and with target groups, and how can they be appropriately communicated?

The project and programme description contains detailed information about the project content and expected results.

Internal project partners:

• Economics and Social Sciences Research Unit, WSL (Prof. Dr. Irmi Seidl)

External project partners:
External partners are currently being selected in an ongoing call for tenders. The bidding period ended on 12 may 2023

Impacts of global climate change on Switzerland

Project goal:
In-depth analysis of the impacts of global climate change on Switzerland's economic performance, food and pharmaceutical supply due to climate-related disruptions in production chains and on international sales markets.

Project management:
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)

Key Questions:

• How will global climate change affect Switzerland's internationally entwined production chains today and in the future (perspective 2060)?
• How does global climate change affect Switzerland’s international sales markets (perspective 2060)?
• What is the impact on the global economy / «time to emerge» of a rising sea level (perspective 2060)?
• How is the security of supply / basic supply of food and pharmaceutical products (quantity/quality) interlinked with global climate change (perspective 2060)?
• How can results be turned into customised and practical decision support tools and services for and with target groups, and how can they be appropriately communicated?

Project partners:

• Weather and Climate Risks Group, ETH Zurich (Prof. Dr. David N. Bresch)
• Celsius Pro
• EBP Schweiz AG
• Correntics
• Risk Dialogue Foundation

Impacts of climate change on ecosystem services in Switzerland

Project goal:
Impact of climate change on ecosystem services (ES), support for decision-makers in matters of protection and use of ecosystems, and clarification of the importance of ES for climate mitigation and adaptation measures.

Project management:
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL)

Key Questions:

• How can a cross-sectoral view on the impacts of climate change on a breadth of ecosystem services be provided?

For forest ecosystem services, agricultural ecosystem services, aquatic ecosystem services (services provided by rivers, lakes, wetlands and groundwater) the following key questions are investigated:

• How do ecosystem services react to climate change and other major direct and indirect drivers of change in Switzerland (with a perspective to 2060, with or without adaptation) and what are the consequences for management?
• Which approaches can support management in a changing climate when conflicting goals between use and protection of ecosystem services emerge?
• How can ecosystem services be used for climate policies (climate mitigation and climate adaptation) in Switzerland?
• How can results be turned into customised and practical decision support tools and services for and with target groups, and how can they be appropriately communicated?

Project partners:

• Professorship of Forest Ecology, ETH Zurich (Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann)
  
• Ecosystem Ecology Research Group, WSL (Prof. Dr. Arthur Gessler)
• Climate and Agriculture Research Group, Agroscope (Dr. Pierluigi Calanca)
• EBP Schweiz AG
• enviroSPACE laboratory, University of Geneva (Prof. Dr. Anthony Lehmann)

Impacts of climate change on health, well-being and performance of humans and animals and on food safety in Switzerland

Project goal:
To provide decision-making tools in order to maintain and promote the health, well-being and performance of humans and animals in light of climate change

Project management:
Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO)

Key Questions:

• How resilient is the healthcare system in light of climate change (focus: extreme heat event)? What are the effects of climate change on patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare infrastructure, and what preventive and adaptive measures can be derived from this for the resilience of the healthcare system?
• What is the direct/indirect impact of climate change on health, well-being and performance of farm animals and what can be attributed to extreme events (heat, drought, more events of severe weather and heavy precipitation, less snow)?
• What is the direct/indirect impact of climate change on food safety (e.g. the contamination of raw products)?
• What are the risks for humans and farm animals posed by diseases, which are directly/indirectly vector-borne and related to climate change?
• How can results be turned into customised and practical decision support tools and services for and with target groups, and how can they be appropriately communicated?

Project partners:   

• Centre for Proper Housing of Ruminants and Pigs, FSVO
• Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), Research Group «Climate Change and Health», University of Bern (Dr. Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera)
• Veterinary Public Health Institute (VPHI), University of Bern
• EBP Schweiz AG

Costs of climate change impacts in Switzerland with and without successful global climate change mitigation

Project goal:
Calculation and comparison of the costs of climate change (impacts and adaptation) in 2060 under two different climate scenarios.

Project management:
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)

Key Questions:

• Against which reference development should the costs of climate change be analysed?
• What are the effects of climate change on the various impact areas in Switzerland under a successful global mitigation scenario (RCP2.6) and a business as usual scenario (RCP8.5)? What adaptation options exist in the various sectors for these two scenarios?
• What are the costs of climate change in the most relevant impact areas under a successful global mitigation scenario (RCP2.6) and a business as usual scenario (RCP8.5) with and without adaptation measures?
• What are the costs of adapting to the impacts of climate change in Switzerland with and without successful global climate change mitigation measures?
• What are the overall economic costs of climate change in Switzerland under consideration of the various mitigation and adaptation scenarios?
• How can results be turned into customised and practical decision support tools and services for and with target groups, and how can they be appropriately communicated?

Project partners:

• EBP Schweiz AG
• Sustainaccount AG
• Ecoplan
• EClim research group, University of Zurich
• UW Consult

Impacts of climate change on critical infrastructure

The project on the topic 'Critical Infrastructures, Climate Change, and Resilience of the Swiss Energy System' is managed by the SWEET funding programme of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) as a joint activity between NCCS-Impacts and SWEET.

More information is available at: www.sweet.admin.ch

For its optimal use in the projects, a further project is dedicated to the tailoring and provision of climate information:

Climate information as a basis for programme implementation

Project goal: 
Tailor and provide climate information to support the successful implementation of climate impact projects.

Project management and partner:
This project is managed and implemented by the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss.

Download:

NCCS-Impacts project and programm description (PDF, 990 kB, 16.03.2023)

Last modification 15.05.2023