Page - 26 - in options, Volume winter 2017/2018

europe 26 regional focus www.iiasa.ac.atoptions ◼ winter 2017/18 More targeted efforts are needed from both the public and private insurance sectors in order to encourage people to take action to reduce their risk of flood damage, according to a new study that examined flood preparedness and attitudes in Austria, England, and Romania. “Currently neither insurance nor governments successfully encourage risk reduction. Increased and more targeted efforts, particularly from local authorities, will be important, and have the capacity to change the picture. This will be exceedingly important considering extreme events from climate change,” says IIASA researcher Susanne Hanger, who led the study. “This in turn is important for insurance to remain viable and for governments to not overspend on disaster aid.” The study, published in the journal Risk Analysis also finds little support for the idea that compensation for flood damage make people less likely to take personal risk reduction measures, such as taking actions to prepare for an eventual flood or installing structures or technologies that can help protect homes from damage. Instead, the study finds that neither private insurance nor public compensation after a disaster is linked to less risk reduction at an individual level. The study also found important differences in flood preparedness and awareness between the three countries, perhaps related to differences in government capacity. In Austria and England, the researchers found that public risk reduction infrastructure, such as dams and levees, were associated with a lower rate of individual investment in risk reduction measures. But in Romania neither insurer’s nor government efforts showed any effect on household risk reduction behavior. KL As countries around the world look to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, they are changing the traditional supply and demand of energy resources. In the UK, increasing supply of renewable energy and integration of new consumer technologies, such as electric vehicles, small-scale solar and wind renewables, is challenging the way electricity is traditionally balanced in the grid. Demand side management (DSM) has been recognized as a promising solution to overcome the challenge of balancing the grid. Operation of flexible consumer technologies can be shifted in time Using demand-side management to solve UK energy problems Room for improvement in European flood preparedness Further info Subkhankulova D, Baklanov A, & McCollum D (2017). Demand Side Management: A Case for Disruptive Behaviour. In: Advanced Computational Methods for Knowledge Engineering. Eds. Le, Nguyen-Thinh, van Do, Tien, Nguyen, Ngoc Thanh & Thi, Hoai An Le, pp. 47-59 Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/14688] Artem Baklanov baklanov@iiasa.ac.at Further info Hanger-Kopp S, Bayer J, Surminski S, Nenciu C, Lorant A, Ionescu R, & Patt A (2017). Insurance, public assistance and household flood risk reduction: A comparative study of Austria, England and Romania. Risk Analysis. [pure.iiasa.ac.at/14737] Susanne Hanger-Kopp hanger@iiasa.ac.at in order to coincide with renewable electricity generation. However, most existing models focus on an isolated system, whereby a single aggregator coordinates a pool of homogenous consumers. In a new study, Dina Subkhankulova and her coauthors showed that DSM can lead to negative consequences such as increased system demand peaks and higher electricity prices, as a result of electricity utilities using it as a tool to compete in the market. “If done well, demand side management can serve as a powerful tool to balance renewables in the grid and help the UK transition to a more sustainable system,” explains Subkhankulova, who participated in the IIASA Young Scientist Summer Program in 2016. “However, when considered in the context of competing electricity utilities, DSM could lead to negative effects for the whole system. We argue that a relevant regulatory framework for DSM is likely to be required in the future.” JS