Adapting to a Changing Climate

Regardless of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, some degree of climate change will occur because of the GHGs already emitted to the atmosphere. It is still important to mitigate climate change by reducing emissions to avoid calamitous change; adaptation is a complement to mitigation.

Climate change will affect ecosystems, infrastructure, and sectors of our economy. The impacts on these systems will depend on their sensitivity to climate change and their ability to adapt. The goal of adaptation is to increase natural and societal resilience to climate change.

For adaptation strategies, refer to these resources:

• Adapting to Climate Change in Minnesota - Preliminary Report of the Interagency Climate Adaptation Team (p-gen4-07)
• Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts
• Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fourth Assessment Report (2007)
• Adaptation to Climate Change – US EPA
• Preliminary Review of Adaptation Options for Climate-Sensitive Ecosystems and Resources – US Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.4 (2008)
• 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy - California Natural Resources Agency (2009)
• Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in Canada – Natural Resources Canada
• Coping with Global Climate Change: The Role of Adaptation in the U.S. – Pew Center on Global Climate Change (2004)