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All research conducted with respect to climate change acknowledges the fact that adaptation will be a key response to reducing vulnerability to its effects. The big question is how will companies and governments manage that adaptation process?

The reality is that the Earth has already warmed by 0.7°C since around 1900. Even if all emissions stopped tomorrow, the Earth will warm by a further 0.5 - 1°C over coming decades due to the considerable inertia in the climate system. Based on current trends, global temperatures could rise by 2 - 3°C within the next 50 years or so, with several degrees more warming by the end of the century if emissions continue to grow.

Economist Lord Stern of Brentford clearly warned the world in his Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, prepared for the British government on the subject of effect of climate change and global warming on the world economy, that climate is a pervasive factor in social and economic development – one so universally present and so deeply ingrained that it is barely noticed until things go wrong.  

He further cited that adaptation will be crucial in reducing vulnerability to climate change and is the only way to cope with the impacts that are inevitable over the next few decades. In regions that may benefit from small amounts of warming, adaptation will help to reap the rewards. It provides an impetus to adjust economic activity in vulnerable sectors and to support sustainable development, especially in developing countries.

However, adaptation isn’t easy, and it can only reduce, not remove, the impacts of climate change. There will be some residual cost – either the impacts themselves or the cost of adapting. Without early and strong mitigation, the costs of adaptation rise sharply.

The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) in Bali, December 2007, adopted the Bali Plan, which identified adaptation as one of five key building blocks required for a strengthened future response to climate change to enable to and beyond 2012. The other four building blocks are: shared vision; mitigation; technology; and financial resources.

According to a report by Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), adaptation is necessary to address impacts resulting from the warming which is already unavoidable due to past emissions. And some adaptation is already occurring but more extensive adaptation is required to reduce vulnerability to future climate change. The report concluded that a portfolio of adaptation and mitigation measures can diminish the risks associated with climate change.

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