Reinhard Mechler
Research Group Leader and Principal Research Scholar
Systemic Risk and Resilience Research Group
Advancing Systems Analysis Program
Biography
Reinhard Mechler has over 20 years of experience analyzing and addressing socio-economic 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. Currently, he is the leader of the Systemic Risk and Resilience (SYRR) Research Group in the IIASA Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) Program. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Graz and is a senior lecturer at the University for Economics and Business in Vienna.Dr. 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 acted as 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 5th assessment report and the report on 1.5°C global warming, and is currently a lead author on the IPCC's 6th assessment report.
Areas of Expertise: Socio-Economics of natural disaster risk management and climate adaptation, climate risk and resilience, disaster risk management and climate change policy, loss and damage, climate finance.
Last update: 24 MAR 2021
Publications
Timonina, A., Mechler, R. , Williges, K., & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. (2013). Catalogue and Toolbox of Risk Assessment and Management Tools. Deliverable 2.1, Working Paper, ENHANCE Project, IVM, Netherlands (16 September 2013)
Kull, D., Mechler, R. , & Hochrainer-Stigler, S. (2013). Probabilistic cost-benefit analysis of disaster risk management in a development context. Disasters 37 (3) 374-400. 10.1111/disa.12002.
Michel-Kerjan, E., Hochrainer-Stigler, S., Kunreuther, H., Linnerooth-Bayer, J., Mechler, R. , Muir-Wood, R., Ranger, N., Vaziri, P., & Young, M. (2013). Catastrophe risk models for evaluating disaster risk reduction investments in developing countries. Risk Analysis 33 (6) 984-999. 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01928.x.
Mechler, R. & Islam, N. (2013). Cost-benefit analysis of disaster risk management and climate adaptation: The case of Bangladesh. In: The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters. Eds. Guha-Sapir, D, Santos, I, & Borde, A, USA pp.80-106: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199841936
Scrieciu, S., Rezai, A., & Mechler, R. (2013). On the economic foundations of green growth discourses: The case of climate change mitigation and macroeconomic dynamics in economic modeling. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs). Energy and Environment 2 (3) 251-268. 10.1002/wene.57.