Climate adaptation is a vague concept. It probably sounds a good idea, but you may be a little fuzzy on the details: what types of solutions have been proposed, when and where they’ve been proposed, and what behind-the-scenes work looks like to get these plans enacted, etc.
Let’s talk about what’s currently going on with climate adaptation!
- What places currently have climate adaptation plans?
Many places have had climate adaptation plans for years. These climate adaptation plans are implemented on smaller, more localized scales. Places with climate adaptation plans include New York City, Boston, Chicago, Norfolk, Santiago, and London.
Smaller scale plan creation and implementation means that local environmental and economic histories, as well as geographic needs, are taken into account. Though relatively close to each other, Nashville and Memphis, for instance, will have slightly different needs in a warmer climate.
- What do climate adaptation plans look like?
Because climate adaptation plans need to consider a place’s unique context, no two climate change plans look exactly alike.
Let’s use coastal cities as an example: flood resilience will be extremely important as sea levels continue to rise globally. Different cities can choose different approaches. Some cities, like New York, may propose building floodwalls as their primary adaptation strategy, while others, like Boston, may primarily consider flood-adapted buildings and elevated landscapes where possible.
Other aspects of climate adaptation plans have included funding for climate projection research as well as for research into what strategies would be best. Examples of adaptation strategies include increasing the water and energy efficiency of residential and non-residential buildings (London), and green roof technologies to absorb rainwater in the event of future scarcity (Chicago).
Many climate adaptation plans aim to improve upon existing infrastructures not just because of cost effectiveness (because, you know, it’s usually cheaper to better what you have instead of building something new) but also because it helps minimize present resource use and helps prepare for a future where climate change will probably make resources like potable water a lot more scarce.
- What about places without climate adaptation plans?
The unfortunate thing about local areas being solely in charge of their own climate adaptation plans means that a majority of cities simply don’t have them. Without overarching federal legislation, it’s unlikely that every city in the U.S. will have a climate adaptation plan. Considering there’s no worldwide legislative body with the needed enforcement power, the global climate adaptation plan gap could get wider before it narrows.
The good news is that community organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are working towards bridging this gap.
An example of a community organization striving to bring about climate adaptation efforts is Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), an environmental justice organization based in California that’s been around since the late 1970s. As climate change has become nearly impossible to ignore, especially for Black and brown communities in California, CBE has started lobbying for sustainable infrastructure as well as launching its CARE program. CBE’s CARE program aims to connect communities with businesses and local governments, in order to identify and pursue community-driven adaptation strategies.
There are also plenty of NGOs across the globe that aim to spread climate adaptation strategies. These NGOs can be based in a single country or transnational, and tend to have their own funding that they are able use to further climate adaptation goals like plan research and adaptation. The Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) is just one example. APAN conducts research and provides funding for adaptation and resilience projects across Asian and Pacific nations, from more sustainable agriculture ventures to flood resilience. The Climate Action Network (CAN) is another example. CAN is a coalition of primarily European NGOs that are committed to climate action, both to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as to adapt to future climate.
There’s still a lot of work to be done with climate adaptation, but the good news is that there is already a lot of progress being made. While we shouldn’t give up on climate mitigation, it’s comforting to know that all hope for the future isn’t lost.