The governance of adaptation to climate change and the need for actionable knowledge

All over the world, governments are considering how to deal with the issue of climate change and its possible consequences. Most energy is devoted to the question of how to mitigate climate change by reducing CO₂ emissions. However, there is growing evidence that climate change will be irreversible and will have serious threatening consequences. Therefore, the issue of how we can and have to adapt to changing climate conditions is coming more and more onto the political and administrative agenda (IPCC, 2012). The taboo that for a long time rested on adaptation is slowly being lifted (Pielke et al., 2007).