Dutch national climate change adaptation policy through a securitization lens: Variations of securitization
Mees, Heleen; Surian, Jana
(2023) Frontiers in Climate, volume 5, pp. 1 - 10
(Article)
Abstract
Climate change has been framed as a threat to human security and has therefore become securitized, scholars argue. But what about the securitization of climate change adaptation as a policy response to fight climate change? Adaptation has risen on political agendas worldwide, and a few scholars have found some early
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signs of the securitization of adaptation at UN/EU levels. This paper analyzes how and to what extent adaptation has become securitized at national level, studying The Netherlands as one of the frontrunners in adaptation. We compared the levels of securitization for different adaptation issues, based on content analysis of 19 general and sectoral national policy documents and 7 in-depth interviews with national policy makers and experts. Securitization is studied with respect to the discourses used to frame the climate as a risk or threat, and the actors and tools that are put forward to address the climate risk or threat. The results show that climate change has made Dutch adaptation to flood risks even more prominent: in the two most important national policy documents climate change is framed as a wake-up call to speed up the plans and actions of the longstanding Delta program to protect The Netherlands against flooding. We also see considerable differences between the levels of securitization for different adaptation issues. Water-related adaptation issues show signs of riskification, while the same cannot be said for adaptation to heat stress and drought. Furthermore, most attention goes to the governance of adaptation in the built environment, while neglecting the social and health care domains and the need to take account of the capabilities of at-risk citizen groups. By applying the securitization lens this research has yielded new insights into national adaptation policy development. Future research could develop a better understanding of how securitization tendencies travel across different governance scales; for instance, on how national level discourses influence securitization of adaptation at the local level.
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Keywords: climate change adaptation, national policy, Netherlands, riskification, securitization, Global and Planetary Change, Environmental Science (miscellaneous), Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
ISSN: 2624-9553
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Note: Funding Information: Along with the rise of the public issue of climate change, climate change adaptation- the policy domain that deals with the preparation for and adjustment to current and predicted effects of climate change, from now on referred to as adaptation (IPCC, )—has climbed international and national policy agendas (European Commission, , ,; IPCC, ). For instance, among its climate strategies the European Union (EU) has assigned a central role for adaptation to reduce the adverse impacts of climate risks (Mysiak et al., ). In 2021 the European Commission launched the mission “Adaptation to Climate Change” as part of the 2021-2030 Horizon Europe Missions that target major global societal challenges in health, climate and the environment (European Commission, ). In the latest EU Climate Adaptation Strategy, the European Commission has expressed the need for adaptation to ensure the strategic autonomy and self-interest of the EU and its member states (European Commission, ). The EU Adaptation mission is supported by the EU knowledge platform Climate ADAPT. Also in The Netherlands adaptation has been receiving increased policy attention, and the country is often regarded to be a frontrunner in adaptation planning. Dutch adaptation policy has been shaped by the National Adaptation Strategy and the Dutch Delta program, both calling for integrated action to manage the risks of climate change on society from all governmental organizations at all level of governance (NAS, , ; DP, ). Also the Dutch government has developed a dedicated knowledge portal for adaptation. Funding Information: This paper has benefitted from funding provided by the Research Council of Norway grant no. 302599 supporting the project RISKSEC2.0 Local climate change adaptation: From risk governance to securitization strategies (2020–2024). Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Mees and Surian.
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