Understanding Adaptation Science
The two components of climate action
For over half a century, human activities have been releasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere. Global warming is already well underway, and certain impacts of climate change are therefore inevitable. The economic, social and environmental repercussions, which are already observable, will become more pronounced.
Addressing climate change involves two parallel and equally essential components.
Definition | Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation : Human intervention aiming to reduce GHG sources and emissions, as well as to enhance the effectiveness of carbon sinks.
Adaptation : Any initiative or measure taken to reduce the vulnerability and bolster the resilience of natural and human systems to real or anticipated impacts of climate change.
Mitigation
Climate change mitigation means reducing the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere by decreasing GHG emissions and increasing their absorption by carbon sinks. Mitigating climate change is essential to limit the increase in extreme events and to stabilize slow-onset events.
However, the benefits of these mitigation efforts will only be felt several decades from now.
Adaptation
Combined with mitigation efforts, adaptation is essential. It’s an opportunity to learn to live in the new climate reality that is taking hold. The message of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is unequivocal: due to the urgency and complexity of the climate crisis, adaptation actions of a new depth and scale are required.
Several studies have also made it clear that by investing in adaptation now, even greater costs can be avoided in the future. Adaptation has potential long-term environmental, social and financial benefits that outweigh its costs.
The Canadian Climate Institute has calculated that taking proactive adaptation measures can cut climate costs in half.
However, neither adaptation nor mitigation will be able to prevent the significant impacts of climate change. A strategy with a balance between mitigation and adaptation is essential to reduce the consequences of climate change.
According to the Canadian Climate Institute, when adaptation is combined with global emissions reductions, the costs of climate change decline by three-quarters.
Hasty adaptation choices can lead to maladaptation. However, when adaptation is well-planned and coordinated, it is generally less costly and more effective in the long term. In addition, adaptation measures can generate other benefits such as increased biodiversity, economic growth, improved quality of life, and climate change mitigation.
Adaptation planning for both the short and long term is more effective
In the short term, climate change adaptation planning focuses on emergency measures. These enable us to cope with the impact of a climate event, repair the damage, and return to normal or resume operations relatively quickly. This is known as reactive adaptation.
In the long term, climate change adaptation planning focuses on measures that are implemented before the impacts are felt, with the aim of reducing the impacts when the climate event occurs. This is known as proactive or anticipatory adaptation.
