User guides for the climate adaptation of buildings and infrastructure in Norway – Characteristics and impact

This is paper provides a critical review of the existing guidance material for the climate adaptation of the built environment in Norway, based on the analysis and mapping of 84 user guides and web portals, and on interviews of climate adaptation experts about their views on the guides under scrutiny.

The review finds that by and large, climate adaptation is disseminated at a general level rather than providing in-depth practical advice. The overabundance of guiding material is also a recurring issue flagged within the expert interviews as likely to "cause confusion and uncertainty among users". The authors conclude that "the abundance of user guides does not automatically lead to better climate adaptation. Too few user-guides for climate adaptation sufficiently secure easily accessible information on practical measures. The guides are not broadly utilized, the language and length of the texts are sometimes problematic, and the target groups are often wide or not specified. The results presented may be used in order to develop improved user guides for climate adaptation in societies with similar climate and societal challenges to those in Norway". Links to the web portals and guides analyzed are provided in the paper.