scholarly journals Global evidence of constraints and limits to human adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelle Thomas ◽  
Emily Theokritoff ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Diana Reckien ◽  
Kripa Jagannathan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Behavioral Adaptation ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Small Islands ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Adaptation Response ◽  
Cultural Constraints ◽  
Global Evidence

AbstractConstraints and limits to adaptation are critical to understanding the extent to which human and natural systems can successfully adapt to climate change. We conduct a systematic review of 1,682 academic studies on human adaptation responses to identify patterns in constraints and limits to adaptation for different regions, sectors, hazards, adaptation response types, and actors. Using definitions of constraints and limits provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we find that most literature identifies constraints to adaptation but that there is limited literature focused on limits to adaptation. Central and South America and Small Islands generally report greater constraints and both hard and soft limits to adaptation. Technological, infrastructural, and ecosystem-based adaptation suggest more evidence of constraints and hard limits than other types of responses. Individuals and households face economic and socio-cultural constraints which also inhibit behavioral adaptation responses and may lead to limits. Finance, governance, institutional, and policy constraints are most prevalent globally. These findings provide early signposts for boundaries of human adaptation and are of high relevance for guiding proactive adaptation financing and governance from local to global scales.

scholarly journals The Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI): Part 3 – Coding protocol

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
A.R. Siders ◽  
Neal Haddaway ◽  
Robbert Biesbroek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Risk Exposure ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Review Protocol ◽  
Reduce Risk

Abstract Context: It is now widely accepted that the climate is changing, and that societal response will need to be rapid and comprehensive to prevent the most severe impacts. A key milestone in global climate governance is to assess progress on adaptation. To-date, however, there has been negligible robust, systematic synthesis of progress on adaptation or adaptation-relevant responses globally. Aim: The purpose of this review protocol is to outline the methods used by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) to systematically review human adaptation responses to climate-related changes that have been documented globally since 2013 in the scientific literature. The broad question underpinning this review is: Are we adapting to climate change? More specifically, we ask ‘what is the evidence relating to human adaptation-related responses that can (or are) directly reducing risk, exposure, and/or vulnerability to climate change?’ Methods: We review scientific literature 2013-2019 to identify documents empirically reporting on observed adaptation-related responses to climate change in human systems that can directly reduce risk. We exclude non-empirical (theoretical & conceptual) literature and adaptation in natural systems that occurs without human intervention. Included documents were coded across a set of questions focused on: Who is responding? What responses are documented? What is the extent of the adaptation-related response? What is the evidence that adaptation-related responses reduce risk, exposure and/or vulnerability? Once articles are coded, we conduct a quality appraisal of the coding and develop ‘evidence packages’ for regions and sectors. We supplement this systematic mapping with an expert elicitation exercise, undertaken to assess bias and validity of insights from included/coded literature vis a vis perceptions of real-world adaptation for global regions and sectors, with associated confidence assessments. Related protocols: This protocol represents Part 3 of a 5-part series outlining the phases of this initiative. Part 3 outlines the methods used to extract data on adaptation from documents (coding), as well as procedures for data quality assurance. See Figure 1.

scholarly journals The Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI): Part 2 – Screening protocol

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Paige Fischer ◽  
Max Callaghan ◽  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
Miriam Nielsen ◽  
Garry Sotnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Risk Exposure ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Screening Protocol ◽  
Reduce Risk

Abstract Context: It is now widely accepted that the climate is changing, and that societal response will need to be rapid and comprehensive to prevent the most severe impacts. A key milestone in global climate governance is to assess progress on adaptation. To-date, however, there has been negligible robust, systematic synthesis of progress on adaptation or adaptation-relevant responses globally. Aim: The purpose of this review protocol is to outline the methods used by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) to systematically review human adaptation responses to climate-related changes that have been documented globally since 2013 in the scientific literature. The broad question underpinning this review is: Are we adapting to climate change? More specifically, we ask ‘what is the evidence relating to human adaptation-related responses that can (or are) directly reducing risk, exposure, and/or vulnerability to climate change?’ Methods: We review scientific literature 2013-2019 to identify documents empirically reporting on observed adaptation-related responses to climate change in human systems that can directly reduce risk. We exclude non-empirical (theoretical & conceptual) literature and adaptation in natural systems that occurs without human intervention. Included documents were coded across a set of questions focused on: Who is responding? What responses are documented? What is the extent of the adaptation-related response? What is the evidence that adaptation-related responses reduce risk, exposure and/or vulnerability? Once articles are coded, we conduct a quality appraisal of the coding and develop ‘evidence packages’ for regions and sectors. We supplement this systematic mapping with an expert elicitation exercise, undertaken to assess bias and validity of insights from included/coded literature vis a vis perceptions of real-world adaptation for global regions and sectors, with associated confidence assessments. Related protocols: This protocol represents Part 2 of a 5-part series outlining the phases of methods for this initiative. Part 2 outlines the methods used to conduct keyword searches and implement machine-assisted screening of documents based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. See Figures 1 and 2.

scholarly journals The Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI): Part 1 – Introduction and overview of methods

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Berrang-Ford ◽  
Alexandra Lesnikowski ◽  
A. Paige Fischer ◽  
A.R. Siders ◽  
Katharine J. Mach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Expert Elicitation ◽  
Risk Exposure ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Reduce Risk

Abstract Context: It is now widely accepted that the climate is changing, and that societal responses will need to be rapid and comprehensive to prevent the most severe impacts. A key milestone in global climate governance is to assess progress on adaptation. To-date, however, there has been negligible robust, systematic synthesis of progress on adaptation or adaptation-relevant responses globally. Aim: The purpose of this review protocol is to outline the methods used by the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) to systematically review human adaptation responses to climate-related changes that have been documented globally since 2013 in the scientific literature. The broad question underpinning this review is: Are we adapting to climate change? More specifically, we ask ‘what is the evidence relating to human adaptation-related responses that can (or are) directly reducing risk, exposure, and/or vulnerability to climate change?’ This work responds to the recognition of the need for high-level syntheses of adaptation research to inform global and regional climate assessments.Methods: We review scientific literature 2013-2019 to identify documents empirically reporting on observed adaptation-related responses to climate change in human systems that can directly reduce risk. We exclude non-empirical (theoretical & conceptual) literature and adaptation in natural systems that occurs without human intervention. Included documents were coded across a set of questions focused on: Who is responding? What responses are documented? What is the extent of the adaptation-related response? What is the evidence that adaptation-related responses reduce risk, exposure and/or vulnerability? Once articles are coded, we conduct a quality appraisal of the coding and develop ‘evidence packages’ for regions and sectors. We supplement this systematic mapping with an expert elicitation exercise, undertaken to assess bias and validity of insights from included/coded literature vis a vis perceptions of real-world adaptation for global regions and sectors, with associated confidence assessments. Related protocols: This protocol represents Part 1 of a 5-part series outlining the phases of methods for this initiative. Part 1 provides an introduction to the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) and an overview of methods.

scholarly journals Child health and wellbeing in a changing climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sripada
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Child Health ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Changing Climate

Abstract Children are one of the most sensitive groups to climate change, along with the elderly and those in small island developing states, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UNICEF estimates that more than half a billion children are estimated to live in extremely high flood risk areas. Children are vulnerable to both the sudden events linked to climate change (e.g., flooding, heatwaves, and wildfires) as well as slower-onset impacts (e.g., water scarcity, shifting agricultural zones, rising sea levels, and increasing disease-vector ranges). Climate change has enormous potential to undermine development gains and livelihood options for today's children. This presentation will provide an overview of impacts on child health and development of both the sudden climate change effects, including extreme weather events, extreme heat, and effects on natural systems; and consequences of the changing climate, such as displacement, migration, and social instability. The trauma of living through a climate-related disaster can have substantial mental health impacts on children and youth. Some key challenges towards to studying and modelling these impacts will be shared. Finally, action and commitments to protect children from climate change will be highlighted.

scholarly journals Machine learning-based evidence and attribution mapping of 100,000 climate impact studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Callaghan ◽  
Carl-Friedrich Schleussner ◽  
Shruti Nath ◽  
Quentin Lejeune ◽  
Thomas R. Knutson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Evidence Map ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Natural Systems

Abstract An ever-growing body of evidence suggests that climate change is already impacting human and natural systems around the world. Global environmental assessments assessing this evidence, for example by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1, face increasing challenges to appraise an exponentially growing literature2 and diverse approaches to climate change attribution. Here we use the language representation model BERT to identify and classify studies on observed climate impacts, producing a machine-learning-assisted evidence map which provides the most comprehensive picture of the literature to date. We identify 100,724 (62,950 − 162,838) publications covering a broad range of impacts in human and natural systems across all continents. By combining our spatially resolved database with human-attributable changes in temperature and precipitation on the grid cell level, we infer that attributable climate change impacts may be occurring in regions encompassing 85% (80%) of the world's population (land area). Our results also reveal a substantial 'attribution gap' as robust evidence for attributable impacts is twice as prevalent in high income compared to low income countries. While substantial gaps remain on confidently establishing attributable climate impacts at the regional and sectoral level, our unique database illustrates the broad extent to which anthropogenic climate change may already be impacting natural systems and societies across the globe.

Transformation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen J. Esler ◽  
Anna L. Jacobsen ◽  
R. Brandon Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Mountainous Areas ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
Habitat Conversion ◽  
Residential Use

Extensive habitat loss and habitat conversion has occurred across all mediterranean-type climate (MTC) regions, driven by increasing human populations who have converted large tracts of land to production, transport, and residential use (land-use, land-cover change) while simultaneously introducing novel forms of disturbance to natural landscapes. Remaining habitat, often fragmented and in isolated or remote (mountainous) areas, is threatened and degraded by altered fire regimes, introduction of invasive species, nutrient enrichment, and climate change. The types and impacts of these threats vary across MTC regions, but overall these drivers of change show little signs of abatement and many have the potential to interact with MTC region natural systems in complex ways.

Collective Risk and Distributional Equity in Climate Change Bargaining

2021 ◽  
pp. 002200272110273
Author(s):  
Aseem Mahajan ◽  
Reuben Kline ◽  
Dustin Tingley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Bargaining Model ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
Collective Risk ◽  
International Climate ◽  
Alternating Offers ◽  
International Climate Negotiations

International climate negotiations occur against the backdrop of increasing collective risk: the likelihood of catastrophic economic loss due to climate change will continue to increase unless and until global mitigation efforts are sufficient to prevent it. We introduce a novel alternating-offers bargaining model that incorporates this characteristic feature of climate change. We test the model using an incentivized experiment. We manipulate two important distributional equity principles: capacity to pay for mitigation of climate change and vulnerability to its potentially catastrophic effects. Our results show that less vulnerable parties do not exploit the greater vulnerability of their bargaining partners. They are, rather, more generous. Conversely, parties with greater capacity are less generous in their offers. Both collective risk itself and its importance in light of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report make it all the more urgent to better understand this crucial strategic feature of climate change bargaining.

scholarly journals Welcome to Hydrogen—A New International and Interdisciplinary Open Access Journal of Growing Interest in Our Society

Hydrogen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
George E. Marnellos ◽  
Thomas Klassen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Open Access Journal ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Ipcc Report

The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [...]

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