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Living with Climate Change Are there Limits to Adaptation?

Living with Climate Change Are there Limits to Adaptation?. Themes. Theme 1: Adapting to thresholds in physical and ecological systems Theme 2: The role of values and culture in adaptation Theme 3: Governance, knowledge and technologies for adaptation. Adaptation is necessary ….

claire-osborn
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Living with Climate Change Are there Limits to Adaptation?

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  1. Living with Climate Change Are there Limits to Adaptation?

  2. Themes Theme 1: Adapting to thresholds in physical and ecological systems Theme 2: The role of values and culture in adaptation Theme 3: Governance, knowledge and technologies for adaptation

  3. Adaptation is necessary ….

  4. Global emissions growing at 2.7% p.a., 2000-08. They will have to drop like a stone after 2020 to meet any reasonable stabilisation level Bows and Anderson (2008) Phil Trans Roy Soc in press.

  5. Thinking behind the Themes Adaptation may be limited by: • divergent goals of adaptation (diverse and incommensurable values) • uncertainty in foresight • intrinsic current value of places and identities Adaptation is constrained by: • social characteristics and individual behaviour Adger, Dessai et al. (2008) – background paper

  6. Theme 1 Adapting to thresholds in physical and ecological systems • Can limits be defined in physical parameters when adaptation involves biological and human adaptation? • Irreversibility ….. • …… of social, cultural and ecological attributes?

  7. Information is not the constraint UK climate scenarios from 1990-2002 compare favourably to recent CET observations Dessai and Hulme (2008) GRL submitted

  8. Theme 2 Role of values and culture in adaptation • Unique nature of places, societies, cultures • Identities bound to localities • Subjective, cultural and symbolic values • Continuous change and adaptation?

  9. Theme 3 Governance, knowledge and technologies for adaptation Scale Agency Diverse goals Modes of governance

  10. A priori thoughts • Adaptation is happening now, but constrained by behaviour, inertia and contested values and aims • Adaptation is absolutely necessary and resonates with sustainable development • Adaptation will be painful for many

  11. Living with Climate Change Are there Limits to Adaptation?

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