ABSTRACT
Climate adaptation, to paraphrase multiple sources, is the practice of reducing the costs associated with the negative impacts of climate change, and of taking advantage of opportunities associated with positive impacts (Parry et al. 2007). There are several sets of activities one frequently has in mind. One set is the construction or modification of infrastructure to “climate proof human settlements or new development, such as by building or raising a dyke or seawall to protect from sea-level rise, or relocating a planned roadway to protect from a rising risk of flooding. A second set is the modification of patterns of production and consumption, such as when farmers switch from cultivation to grazing in order to match the new temperature and precipitation profile of their land, or when tourists alter their travel plans in order to match changing patterns of sunshine and snow. A third set is the development and deployment of new technologies, such as crop varieties that provide high yields while also being drought-tolerant, or seasonal climate forecasts that allow a wide range of decision-makers to plan for upcoming weather. All of these actions depend on people or communities having some degree of means to make these changes: the greater people’s means, the higher their adaptive capacity. Hence, a final set of adaptation activities includes those actions that improve adaptive capacity, through investments in education, information technology, or working finance for infrastructure.
