Identification of potential maladaptation to climate change

This work examines the characteristics of adaptation measures that may lead to a high risk of maladaptation to global climate change, based on an analysis of the current scientific literature on adaptation and maladaptation. By identifying indicators of maladaptation and guidelines that support sustainable adaptation, decision-makers and all stakeholders wishing to plan and implement measures should be able to recognise various pathways of potential maladaptation before implementation and thus minimise them. Another focus of this work is the analysis of adaptation measures taken by private actors in winter tourism in Austria. Rising temperatures can have a huge impact in Alpine regions and thus threaten winter tourism, which is the sole source of income in some regions. If stakeholders in ski resorts do not respond in a timely and appropriate manner, the measures may fail to achieve the desired success and may even have negative consequences for sustainable development in the region.