ABSTRACT
Various research communities focus on specific aspects of climate change, issues of mitigation or adaptation or disaster risk reduction. In recent years, a more integrative perspective and additional linkages between these communities have developed that particularly focus on the interplay between environmental and societal changes and issues of climate change mitigation, adaptation and risk reduction at different scales. This chapter provides an overview of two central strategies for dealing with climate change – mitigation and adaptation. Understanding how strategies of mitigation and adaptation take effect and how they interact with each other and also with issues of vulnerability and risk is key in understanding how climate change impacts different environmental and human systems and how societal and response strategies might need to be designed. We argue that a holistic understanding of climate change, particularly its human dimension with complex interactions and interdependencies, is essential in order to inform future adaptation, risk reduction and development strategies. Because climate change has already led to a rise in the mean global temperature of more than 1°C and is already amplifying existing risks, these issues have an increased urgency.
