Vivian DEPOUES, PhD
Research Lead – Adaptation to climate changeVivian’s work focuses on the approaches of national and local actors to proactively adapt to climate changes and increase their resilience. He works with the national administration, local authorities, utilities and public financial institutions.
Vivian holds a PhD from the University of Paris-Saclay, a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of Pierre and Marie Curie and a master’s degree in environmental policy from SciencesPo Paris. He conducted his PhD in partnership with ADEME, I4CE, SNCF and SNCF Réseau working on the adaptation of the French rail system and analyzing how large organizations deal with scientific knowledge on global changes and transform themselves to adapt to changes in the climate.
He also teaches at SciencesPo and is an associated member at CEARC, a social science research laboratory at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin.
Last contributions
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13/09/2024
Foreword of the week
An efficient EU Climate Adaptation Plan starts with assessing the costs
Climate adaptation, preparedness and solidarity features prominently in the Political Guidelines for the new EU mandate, unveiled by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in July. And with good reason: infrastructures, access to water, food production, life in European cities - to name but a few - are increasingly impacted by the effects of climate change. Europe urgently needs to prepare better for the impact of climate change, was the message in the European Climate Risk Assessment published by the European Environment Agency earlier this year. -
10/09/2024
Climate Report
Adapting French buildings to heatwaves: what do we know?
To address the growing impacts of heatwaves on economic activities and populations, the adaptation of the building sector is becoming a new imperative. While the question of “how” to adapt has been the subject of numerous studies, the question of “how much” has so far received little attention. To move forward on this issue, we present in this report: an overview of current knowledge regarding the costs of adapting the building sector to heatwaves and the methodology we used to estimate the additional costs of adapting to heatwaves, based on available information and discussions with experts. -
01/09/2024
Climate Report
Anticipating the impacts of a 4°C warming: what is the cost of adaptation in France?
Assessing the economic implications of climate policies is essential for steering public action. Significant progress has been achieved in assessing the costs of mitigation, particularly with the publication in 2023 of the report on the economic implications of climate action. However, as the Cour des Comptes noted in its 2024 annual public report, numerous issues surrounding adaptation continue to emerge. Our recent work has nevertheless enabled us to draw five initial conclusions on the subject. -
29/09/2023
Foreword of the week
Adaptation: plotting pathways is the next essential step
As stated by the European Commission there is a “lack of preparedness and [a] disproportion between the climate threats and response mechanisms and structures in place”. One of the key factors in speeding up the implementation of adaptation actions will be the definition, in particular by public authorities, of « clear adaptation pathways setting up the process of how to achieve them through the sequence of options and actions ». The cost of these trajectories will also need to be quantified, to ensure that the human and financial resources are available for implementation. For the time being, this work of defining adaptation trajectories is generally lacking, whatever the sector or scale. And the means to be deployed for adaptation are therefore unknown.
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27/01/2023
Climate Brief
Putting adaptation to the impacts of climate change on the French agenda of discussions between local and national authorities
While French local authorities have important levers for adaptation, they will only be able to mobilize them if certain conditions are met at national level: the entire effort cannot rest on their initiative alone. This is what this I4CE's Climate Report shows. There is an urgent need for a discussion on adaptation between the national government and subnational authorities. -
03/11/2022
Climate Report
Ensuring sufficient means to adapt to climate change consequences in France: What are the costs?
This study is a contribution to the French public debate. It aims at supporting the acceleration and concretization of climate change adaptation initiatives in this country. The study reviews 11 adaptation challenges such as the strengthening of civil protection, the reshaping of coastal areas or the protection of water resources. For each challenge, the study presents national budgetary decisions ready to make in the next Finance Bill that would complement existing actions and cost elements to feed the required arbitrations yet to be made. -
16/09/2022
Climate Report
Buildings new heat waves: invest today to limit the bill tomorrow
Over 35°C in exam halls during the French baccalaureate, inhabitants affected by their residences overheated… Summer 2022 has once again shown that our buildings aren’t adapted for the new heat waves. And yet every year, tens of billions of euros are invested in construction and renovation projects that don’t always take climate change into account. In this study, I4CE proposes immediate actions on three levers to initiate the process of adapting our buildings, and three more structural changes, including changes to thermal regulations. -
08/09/2022
Climate Report
Adapting French forests: investing wisely
L’adaptation de la forêt française aux changements climatique devient un enjeu politique important. D’une part parce que, de sécheresses en incendies, les conséquences de l’évolution du climat sur les peuplements sont de plus en plus visibles. D’autres part parce que son adaptation est une condition indispensable pour que la forêt joue le rôle central que l’on attend d’elle dans l’atténuation du changement climatique. -
25/11/2021
Climate Report
Challenges to implementing adaptation on the ground- 5 case-studies in France
In order to understand what public financial institutions can do, I4CE and Ramboll have analyzed 5 territorial projects, from the Vosges to the Dordogne, which are trying to meet the challenge of adaptation. Beyond their differences, each of the cases studied shows that adaptation requires, above all, dedicating time and resources to change the way projects are designed and carried out. -
25/11/2021
Climate Report
Adaptation : Public financial institutions (also) have a role to play – a study based on the french example
In this study, I4CE reviews the characteristics and areas of intervention of public financial institutions, which make them essential actors for adaptation. The study also reviews all of the Public Financial Institutions' business lines to determine their levers for action. -
30/06/2021
Climate Brief
No adaptation without operational requirements and human resources
Increasingly frequent heat waves, long droughts, coastal erosion and changing flood risks are all impacts of climate change that will be problematic for the French economy and society. How detrimental this impact will be, will largely depend on what we have anticipated. If we organise ourselves well, we will be able to ensure we make the best decisions for a collective management of risks, development and economic choices, better suited to changing climates. However, regardless of whether we choose to reduce the exposure and vulnerability of populations, facilities and activities upstream or accept an increased share of risk, we must be prepared. -
15/03/2021
Climate Report
Climate assessment of local authority budgets: methodological guide
For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues. -
15/03/2021
Climate Report
Climate assessment of local authority budgets: adaptation appendix
For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues. -
15/03/2021
Climate Report
Climate assessment of local authority budgets: mitigation appendix
For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues. -
20/11/2020
Climate Brief
Adaptation in the state budget
While France must adapt to the unavoidable consequences of climate disruption, it is necessary to monitor the financial resources that the State devotes to it. However, as the Senate's Foresight Delegation pointed out in 2019, the issue of financing adaptation is characterised by a lack of clarity on the level of needs and the amounts allocated. -
04/11/2019
Climate Report
Towards an alternative approach in finance to climate risks: taking uncertainties fully into account
It is no easy task to take climate risks – transition risks and physical risks – into account in financial management practices. As this note shows from the example of banking activities, the intrinsic characteristics of these risks – which are long-term and cannot be assigned a probability and for which there are no historical […] -
27/06/2019
Blog post
Heat wave, stop being surprised, let’s invest better
June 2019, the heat wave that affects France and part of Europe takes centre stage. However, we should be less and less surprised by this type of weather event which, with climate change, is becoming more and more common. To see this, take a look at the ClimatHD portal put online by Météo France to disseminate the main climate projections in France. -
11/07/2018
Blog post
I4CE supports Tunisia in its carbon pricing strategy
I4CE has designed a capacity building programme to facilitate the implementation of carbon pricing policies in Tunisia. -
08/12/2017
Climate Brief
COP23: The Paris Agreement warms up before the big 2018 game
COP23 was held from 6 to 18 November 2017 in Bonn, Germany. The conference had to demonstrate that despite recent political challenges, the new governance structure established by the Paris Agreement on climate could maintain the necessary momentum to achieve an ambitious low-carbon transition. Three main outcomes were expected from COP23: (1) assess the […] -
20/07/2017
Blog post
Case study: adaptation of the French railway system
Released in the scientific journal Climatic Change. Organisational uptake of scientific knowledge and adaptation of infrastructure Future development and renewal of transport infrastructures have to take into account how the effects of climate change will affect these complex sociotechnical systems. This article aims at understanding how to raise this issue to ensure an efficient and […] -
13/12/2016
Climate Brief
COP22 in Marrakech: a push for accelerated action by 2018
Adopted in 2015 at COP21, the Paris Agreement defines ambitious objectives to orient countries towards developing low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, shifting to a carbon-neutral global economy before the end of the century. It establishes a multilateral cooperation framework governed on the basis of both national and voluntary contributions of States and the initiatives of non-State actors. Yet, […] -
08/01/2016
Special issues
Scientific Brief for the LPAA
Scientific Brief on the implications of local and regional jurisdictions for mitigation and adaptation to climate change: How can they enhance engagement of their constituents? State of science and focus on economic and financial tools. -
18/12/2015
Climate Brief
COP21 – a successful ‘end of the beginning
The Paris Agreement provides a clear signal and a solid framework for climate action. Balanced and ambitious in its objectives – including full decarbonization of the global economy before the end of the century – it has all the conditions to encourage everyone to do more. In establishing a new international climate change regime, the […] -
10/12/2015
Climate Report
The adaptation of cities to climate change
Cities and urban areas are particularly affected because of their geographical location and the large share of the population and economic activities they bring together. This Climate Report provides a synthetic and problematized review of the literature on climate change adaptation at the urban scale, the tools and resources available to cities to implement strategies […] -
20/10/2015
ClimasCOPe
Climate Change Adaptation
Heading towards the 2015 Paris international Climate Conference (COP21), I4CE, in partnership with ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, releases ClimasCOPe # 5 on climate change adaptation ClimasCOPe # 5 focuses on the place of climate change adaptation in the climate action. After an editorial titled « COP 21: a new approach and […] -
30/06/2015
On the mobilization of non-state actors for the climate action
Heading towards the 2015 Paris international Climate Conference (COP21), I4CE, in partnership with ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, publishes a ClimasCOPe # 4 aiming to shed some light on the challenges of international climate negotiations. ClimasCOPe # 4 is focused on the challenge of the mobilization of non-state actors in the climate […] -
17/06/2015
Climate Report
Mitigating climate change and waste recycling: household packaging case study
• The waste sector has consistently poor visibility when it comes to GHG inventories. Its true impact can only be understood through a comprehensive life-cycle assessment methodology. It is only then that the actual effectiveness of waste prevention and recycling in mitigating GHG emissions becomes clear. • This Climate Report examines the principle of Extended Producer […] -
14/06/2015
Climate Report n° 50 « Mitigating climate change and waste recycling: household packaging case study »
• The waste sector has consistently poor visibility when it comes to GHG inventories. Its true impact can only be understood through a comprehensive life-cycle assessment methodology. It is only then that the actual effectiveness of waste prevention and recycling in mitigating GHG emissions becomes clear. • This Climate Report examines the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility […]