Climate change is expected to have adverse impacts and implications for a range of human-environment systems. However, our understanding of the extent to which these impacts may propagate as cascades, compounding to form multiple impacts across sectors, is limited. Cascades result from interdependencies between systems and sub-systems of coupled natural and socio-economic systems in response to changes and feedback loops. The combined effects of interacting stressors may affect the ability of individuals, governments, and the private sector to adapt in time, before widespread damage occurs. We discuss the origins of cascading impacts thinking and present the results of an investigation of cascading impacts and implications in New Zealand. A participatory and collaborative approach was used through workshops and semi-structured interviews with sector informants, including engineers, local government staff, and financial risk managers and analysts from the financial services sectors. Qualitative data collection was combined with network and systems analysis to examine increased frequency of high-intensity rainfall events, sea-level rise and drought, across urban water infrastructure and the financial services, and the implications of cascading climate change impacts for governance. Results demonstrate that closer consideration of the combined effects of linked stressors can facilitate a better understanding of the scope and scale of climate change impacts. By using critical systems thinking in characterising and assessing how climate change impacts cascade across domains, we show the implications of cascades for their governance and reveal where climate change adaptation interventions might be focused. The research methods and insights into cascades provide a conceptual and practical basis for further development, which can inform the design of additional studies in other domains and jurisdictions.

预期气候变化将对一系列人类环境系统产生不利影响和影响。但是，我们对这些影响可能会级联传播的程度的理解是有限的，这些因素加在一起形成跨部门的多重影响。级联是由自然和社会经济系统耦合的系统和子系统之间的相互依赖性所引起的，以响应变化和反馈回路。压力源相互作用的综合作用可能会影响个人，政府和私营部门在广泛破坏发生之前及时适应的能力。我们讨论了级联影响思想的起源，并提出了对新西兰级联影响及其影响的调查结果。通过研讨会和与行业信息提供者的半结构化访谈，采用了参与式和协作式方法，其中包括工程师，地方政府工作人员以及金融服务行业的金融风险经理和分析师。定性数据收集与网络和系统分析相结合，以检查城市水基础设施和金融服务中高强度降雨事件，海平面上升和干旱的频率增加，以及级联的气候变化影响对治理的影响。结果表明，仔细考虑链接的压力源的综合作用可以促进对气候变化影响范围和规模的更好理解。通过运用批判性系统思维来表征和评估气候变化如何影响各个领域的级联，我们展示了级联对其治理的影响，并揭示了气候变化适应干预措施的重点。级联的研究方法和见解为进一步发展提供了概念和实践基础，可为其他领域和司法管辖区的其他研究设计提供依据。