Globally, researchers and policymakers are calling for transformative climate adaptation (TCA) to fundamentally change the attributes of social, economic, and ecological systems to deal with climate risks. However, attempts to conceptualize, assess, and implement TCA are limited and often result in vague and diffuse meanings, hindering transformative action. This study synthesizes existing literature to introduce a framework consisting of six dimensions for evaluating transformative climate adaptation actions: (1) depth, (2) scope, (3) scale, (4) speed, (5) social vulnerability, and (6) ecological vulnerability. We applied this framework to 51 climate change adaptation cases in the Netherlands. Our results show that no single case scored high on all dimensions, suggesting there are trade-offs between the six dimensions. Most trade-offs exist between depth, speed, and scale; however, they sometimes extend to the interplay between social and ecological vulnerability. We identify multiple clusters of cases that display varying degrees and characteristics of transformative change. Our results strengthen the call for a multidimensional and continuous change perspective of TCA to address the gap between transformative theory and transformative actions. The framework proposed here could guide future empirical research on the drivers of TCA and help governance actors work towards building more socially and environmentally resilient futures.

中文翻译：

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在理论与行动之间：在荷兰的 51 个案例中评估气候变化适应的变革性特征


在全球范围内，研究人员和政策制定者呼吁变革性气候适应 （TCA） 从根本上改变社会、经济和生态系统的属性，以应对气候风险。然而，概念化、评估和实施 TCA 的尝试是有限的，并且通常会导致含义模糊和分散，阻碍变革行动。本研究综合了现有文献，引入了一个由六个维度组成的框架，用于评估变革性的气候适应行动：（1） 深度，（2） 范围，（3） 规模，（4） 速度，（5） 社会脆弱性和 （6） 生态脆弱性。我们将该框架应用于荷兰的 51 个气候变化适应案例。我们的结果表明，没有一个案例在所有维度上都得分很高，这表明这六个维度之间存在权衡。大多数权衡都存在于深度、速度和规模之间;然而，它们有时延伸到社会和生态脆弱性之间的相互作用。我们确定了多个案例集群，这些案例显示出不同程度和特征的变革性变化。我们的结果加强了对 TCA 的多维和持续变革视角的呼吁，以解决变革性理论和变革性行动之间的差距。这里提出的框架可以指导未来关于 TCA 驱动因素的实证研究，并帮助治理参与者努力建设更具社会和环境韧性的未来。