In the previous chapters issues such as the role of the enterprise in a globalized world, extended enterprise, enterprise social responsibility and the role of supply chain management in view of sustainability requirements were introduced; basic facts about global warming and the impacts of climate change in human lives and the environment were presented; economic and social impacts of climate change for people around the world, developing and developed countries were outlined and climate change monetary costs were indicated; and relationships between climate change and key supply chain operations were discussed.
TopIntroduction
In the previous chapters issues such as the role of the enterprise in a globalized world, extended enterprise, enterprise social responsibility and the role of supply chain management in view of sustainability requirements were introduced; basic facts about global warming and the impacts of climate change in human lives and the environment were presented; economic and social impacts of climate change for people around the world, developing and developed countries were outlined and climate change monetary costs were indicated; and relationships between climate change and key supply chain operations were discussed.
This chapter focuses on key climate adaptation concepts and policies. It summarizes potential climate adaptation responses in the case of developed and developing parts of the world, while the range of incentives or barriers that could encourage or prevent climate adaptation is explored. It also addresses the issue of the economic framework for climate adaptation.
Adaptation refers, according to IPCC, to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. Various types of climate adaptation can be distinguished, including anticipatory and reactive, private and public, and autonomous and planned climate adaptation (IPCC, 2001). In contrast to mitigation, climate adaptation in most cases is undertaken by private actors (“autonomous”) and provides short or medium term local benefits. In addition, there may be intervention by public actors (“policy driven”) either by taking direct action, e.g. by implementing major infrastructure decisions, or by setting policies to encourage private intervention and provide information and advice to private actors. In both cases, it is possible that some interventions may have longer time effects, as shown in Table 1 (Stern Review, 2006, Table 18.1, p. 406).
Table 1. Examples of climate adaptation in practice
| Type of response to climate change | Autonomous | Policy-driven |
| Short-run | • Making short-run adjustments, e.g. changing crop planting dates
• Spreading the loss, e.g. pooling risk through insurance | • Developing greater understanding of climate risks, e.g. researching risks and carrying out a vulnerability assessment
• Improving emergency response, e.g. early-warning systems |
| Long-run | • Investing in climate resilience if future effects relatively well understood and benefits easy to capture fully, e.g. localized irrigation on farms | • Investing to create or modify major infrastructure, e.g. larger reservoir storage, increased drainage capacity, higher seawalls
• Avoiding the impacts, e.g. land use planning to restrict development in floodplains or in areas of increasing aridity. |
Source: Stern Review, 2006
Climate adaptation aims at reducing vulnerability to climatic change and variability and, as a consequence, the negative impacts of climate change. It also aims, where possible, at enhancing the capability of taking advantage of opportunities offered by climate change. These may be the effect of actions at two broad levels (West and Gawith, 2005, p. 46):