Reinhard Mechler
Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar
Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Biography
Reinhard Mechler leads the Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group in the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis Program. He has over 25 years of experience analyzing and addressing socioeconomic aspects of disaster and climate change risks. His interest is to provide evidence-based advice to a wide range of public and private sector decision-makers to improve decisions and build resilience against salient risks.In addition to his role at IIASA, he is a visiting professor at the University of Oviedo and has been a guest professor and senior lecturer at the University of Economics and Business in Vienna, and a visiting professor at the University of Graz.
Mechler has led and contributed to many international research and consultancy projects and is currently leading research for the Flood Resilience Alliance, which brings together researchers, international NGOs, and the private sector to build disaster and climate resilience across the globe. He was a lead author on the IPCC's special report on managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation (SREX), the IPCC 5th assessment report, the report on 1.5°C global warming, and IPCC's 6th assessment report.
His areas of expertise include: socioeconomics of natural disaster risk management and climate adaptation, climate risk and resilience, disaster risk management and climate change policy, Loss and Damage, and climate finance.
Mechler holds a PhD in economics from the Technical University in Karlsruhe and a habilitation qualification from the University of Economics and Business in Vienna. He has a diploma in Economics, and bachelor equivalents in Mathematics, as well as English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Heidelberg. He also studied Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and law at the University of Tübingen.
Last update: 14 MAY 2025
Publications
Hyun, J.H. , Hochrainer-Stigler, S. , Velev, S., & Mechler, R. (2026). Resilience-building interventions and their linkages to livelihood capitals and capacities: insights from community-based implementation across 19 flood-prone countries. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 31 (4) e29. 10.1007/s11027-026-10294-5.
Hochrainer-Stigler, S. , Mechler, R. , Guimaraes, R. , Keating, A., Chapagain, D., Velev, S., Hyun, J.H. , & Clercq-Roques, R. (2026). Validation of latent and realised disaster resilience measurement across the globe. Insights from validating the Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities (FRMC) approach. IIASA Report. Laxenburg, Austria: IIASA
Guimaraes, R. , Mechler, R. , Velev, S., & Chapagain, D. (2025). The effect of community resilience and disaster risk management cycle stages on morbi-mortality following floods: an empirical assessment. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions 25 (10) 3803-3826. 10.5194/nhess-25-3803-2025.
Mechler, R. , Żebrowski, P. , Clercq-Roques, R., Patil, P. , & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. (2025). Positive Externalities in the Polycrisis: Effectively Addressing Disaster and Climate Risks for Generating Multiple Resilience Dividends. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 16 575-593. 10.1007/s13753-025-00661-2.
Simpson, N.P., Sparkes, E., de Ruiter, M., Šakić Trogrlić, R. , Passos, M.V., Schlumberger, J., Lawrence, J., Mechler, R. , & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. (2025). Advances in complex climate change risk assessment for adaptation. npj Climate Action 4 (1) e74. 10.1038/s44168-025-00281-y.