Adaptation is the process of discovering methods to remain flexible and thrive during periods of change. With climate change, the adaptation process seeks to minimize the negative impact of a changing climate, while leveraging any new opportunities that may appear. Climate adaptation can be reactive, occurring in response to extreme weather and climate impacts, or anticipatory, occurring before impacts of climate change are observed. It involves adjusting policies and actions because of observed or expected changes in climate.

A “climate shock” is a shock to a place, impacting people who live and/or work, own assets, or use products grown or produced there. Resilience of a community or country relates to how well the institutions and systems provide public goods during and after shocks. Resilience relates to the capacity to adapt. Building resilience through development is a key foundation for effective adaptation.

Science now provides a basis for communities to anticipate a range of potential climate conditions. Taking action before the worst impacts are incurred is different from how humans have adapted in the past. The challenge to pro-active adaptation is to avoid expensive measures that end up either being wasted when the expected conditions do not occur, or locked-in measures that are inadequate to protect from conditions that actually occur.

Unlike mitigation (reducing/eliminating CO2 emissions) which operates on a global scale with potentially global benefits, the benefits of adaptation, resilience, and development are local to regional. Local manifestations and impacts of climate change are mediated by geography and local infrastructure, social, economic, and political environments.

At the local level, adaptation is a complex process that emerges as social systems reorganize through a series of responses to external stresses. The challenge is to enhance the capacity of communities to adapt by creating enabling environments through rising incomes, access to markets, and rising educational attainment.

Context

The Earth is a hostile place for humans, as evidenced by the struggles of our early ancestors, who adapted primarily through migration. Slowly, humans learned to deal with their environment. Over the past century, adaptation has been substantially enabled by fossil fuels and machines.