As experiences of implementation of climate change adaptation are accumulating, there is a need to increase the understanding of negative effects that might occur and the capacity to assess them. Maladaptation in this context has remained elusively defined and sparingly used, and therefore difficult to apply. Based on a literature review, we identify the conceptual boundaries of maladaptation, assess how it can be used to analyse negative effects of adaptation policies and measures and propose a typology of maladaptation. We argue that maladaptation can be defined as a result of an intentional adaptation policy or measure leading to negative outcome(s) for the targeted or other actors. We note that the recognition of adaptation as an intentional action and the importance of setting clear spatial and temporal boundaries in analysing negative outcomes is key. The proposed typology of maladaptation distinguishes between three types of maladaptive outcomes-rebounding vulnerability, shifting vulnerability and eroding sustainable development.

The inefficient use of phosphorus (P) in the food chain is a threat to the global aquatic environment and the health and well-being of citizens, and it is depleting an essential finite natural resource critical for future food security and ecosystem function. We outline a strategic framework of 5R stewardship (Re-align P inputs, Reduce P losses, Recycle P in bioresources, Recover P in wastes, and Redefine P in food systems) to help identify and deliver a range of integrated, cost-effective, and feasible technological innovations to improve P use efficiency in society and reduce Europe’s dependence on P imports. Their combined adoption facilitated by interactive policies, co-operation between upstream and downstream stakeholders (researchers, investors, producers, distributors, and consumers), and more harmonized approaches to P accounting would maximize the resource and environmental benefits and help deliver a more competitive, circular, and sustainable European economy. The case of Europe provides a blueprint for global P stewardship.

Global food production is dependent on constant inputs of phosphorus. In the current system this phosphorus is not predominantly derived from organic recycled waste, but to a large degree from phosphate-rock based mineral fertilisers. However, phosphate rock is a finite resource that cannot be manufactured. Our dependency therefore needs to be addressed from a sustainability perspective in order to ensure global food supplies for a growing global population. The situation is made more urgent by predictions that, for example, the consumption of resource intensive foods and the demand for biomass energy will increase. The scientific and societal debate has so far been focussed on the exact timing of peak phosphorus and on when the total depletion of the global reserves will occur. Even though the timing of these events is important, all dimensions of phosphorus scarcity need to be addressed in a manner which acknowledges linkages to other sustainable development challenges and which takes into consideration the synergies between different sustainability measures. Many sustainable phosphorus measures have positive impacts on other challenges; for example, shifting global diets to more plant-based foods would not only reduce global phosphorus consumption, but also reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce nitrogen fertiliser demand and reduce water consumption.

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We present a multi-model ensemble study for the Baltic Sea, and investigate the combined impact of changing climate, external nutrient supply, and fisheries on the marine ecosystem. The applied regional climate system model contains state-of-the-art component models for the atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, land surface, terrestrial and marine biogeochemistry, and marine food-web. Time-dependent scenario simulations for the period 1960–2100 are performed and uncertainties of future projections are estimated. In addition, reconstructions since 1850 are carried out to evaluate the models sensitivity to external stressors on long time scales. Information from scenario simulations are used to support decision-makers and stakeholders and to raise awareness of climate change, environmental problems, and possible abatement strategies among the general public using geovisualization. It is concluded that the study results are relevant for the Baltic Sea Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission.

Journal of Risk ResearchThe future climate in the Nordic countries is expected to become "warmer, wetter, and wilder", and it is anticipated that this will cause more extreme weather events. Therefore, local authorities need to increase their ability to assess weather-related hazards such as floods, landslides, and storms, as well as people's sensitivity and capacity to cope with or adjust to such events. In this article, we present an integrated assessment of vulnerability to natural hazards, which incorporates both exposure and social vulnerability. An increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events may make local societies more exposed, but how these societies will change in the future may increase or decrease their vulnerability to extreme weather events. In our assessment, we screen places and rank them by their relative scores on exposure and vulnerability indices. We also design a web-based visualization toolViewExposed -which shows maps that reveal a considerable geographic variation in integrated vulnerability. ViewExposed makes it easy to identify the places with the highest integrated vulnerability, and it facilitates the understanding of the factors that make these places exposed and/or vulnerable. As empirical validation, we correlate the exposure indices with insurance claims due to natural damage. However, we also emphasize a dialogue with relevant stakeholders to ensure a participatory validation. Our top-down exposure and vulnerability assessment benefits from a participatory bottom-up assessment, which is crucial for such an assessment to be used to support decisions on where necessary adaptive and preventive measures to climate-change-related hazards should be carried out.