Strong climate change evidence requires adaption plans now
June 18, 2010
The ‘Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change’ report is part of the America’s Climate Choices suite of studies requested by Congress. It discusses the impacts of climate change and how the US can begin adapting to them in beneficial ways, exploring activities underway at state and local levels, adaptation options, and how the nation can become better prepared to make adaptation choices.
It states that even if emissions of greenhouse gases were substantially reduced now, climate would continue to change for some time to come and the potential consequences for humans and ecosystems are significant. Anticipated climate change impacts will:
- Cause more than five times the average number of expected heat-related deaths in a large American city
- Alter the distribution patterns of plant and animal species
- Reduce the productivity and abundance of species, and change habitats
- Threaten the natural and built environments on the coasts and in fresh water systems from fast rising sea levels, especially when combined with effects of more intense coastal storms
- Result in large-scale retreat of populations from at-risk areas
Adaptation to climate change calls for a new paradigm—one that considers a range of possible future climate conditions and associated impacts, some well outside the realm of past experience. This means not waiting until uncertainties have been reduced to consider adaptation actions. Mobilizing now to increase the nation’s adaptive capacity can be viewed as an insurance policy against an uncertain future.
And adaptation is a process that requires actions from many decision-makers in federal, state, tribal, and local governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and community groups.
Because capacity to be harmed by climate change and options for adaptation are diverse and often specific to local contexts, adaptation decisions will need to be made and implemented by a wide variety of parties in all levels of government, business, and society at large.
Though the contexts may vary, decision-makers can often learn from the experiences of their peers and adjust best practices to their own circumstances. However, there is currently neither a clear federal policy directive to encourage proactive adaptation to climate change nor a venue for managers to share innovative ideas and collaborate on adaptive activities. Therefore, a national adaptation strategy is needed to support and coordinate decentralized efforts.
For more information on the America's Climate Choices report go to http://americasclimatechoices.org