Abstract
The frequently heard call to harmonize adaptation and mitigation policies is well intended and many opportunities exist to realize co-benefits by designing and implementing both in mutually supportive ways. But critical tradeoffs (inadequate conditions, competition among means for implementation, and negative consequences of pursuing both simultaneously) also exist, along with policy disconnects that are shaped by history, sequencing, scale, contextual variables, and controversial climate discourses in the public. To ignore these issues can be expected to undermine a more comprehensive, better integrated climate risk management portfolio. The paper discusses various implications of these tradeoffs between adaptation and mitigation for science and policy.
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Notes
The author thanks an anonymous reviewer for pointing out this potential challenge.
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This essay by Susanne Moser is a revised version that supercedes her Springboard Editorial that temporarily appeared as an online publication. This earlier version commented on a paper that was subsequently withdrawn by the author, though not for substantive reasons. This Essay expresses Susanne Moser’s own point of view on the topic.
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Moser, S.C. Adaptation, mitigation, and their disharmonious discontents: an essay. Climatic Change 111, 165–175 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0398-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0398-4