Integrating value systems and place-based characteristics into climate risk assessments

Cristobal Reveco^1,2*Joerg Cortekar^1,2Chiara Trozzo³Martin vokral⁴Lola Kotova^1,2Eeva Kuntsi-reunanen⁵Giulia Galluccio³Natalia Korhonen⁵

• ¹Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), Hamburg, Germany
• ²Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Geesthacht, Germany
• ³Centro Euro-Mediterraneo Per I Cambiamenti Climatici Sede di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
• ⁴ASITIS s r.o., Prague, Czechia
• ⁵Ilmatieteen Laitos, Helsinki, Finland

This article examines how value systems and place‑based characteristics shape the ways in which local communities define, represent, and prioritise climate risks in urban and rural settings. Drawing on ten climate impact‑chain assessments—co‑developed through participatory processes with stakeholders in demonstration regions across Europe within the EU project VALORADA—we explore four hazard domains: urban warming, heatwaves, droughts, and extreme precipitation. Building on previous literature and based on our observations, we argue that the identification, definition and prioritisation of climate risks extend beyond biophysical aspects or existential threats and is also influenced by locally salient values, including sustainability, security, safety, identity, human health, cooperation, and trust. These values can, at times, come into tension—particularly where the management of scarce resources (e.g., water) is contested, or where policy goals such as environmental conservation and economic development intersect within the same decision arena. We conclude by arguing that integrating value-based and place-specific characteristics into climate risk assessments requires reflecting to local actors how climate hazards can influence the local value frameworks that guide human action and potentially affect their meaningful participation in society.