Balance Between Mitigation and Adaptation

Abstract

The countermeasures combating climate change consist of mitigation and adaptation. This chapter discusses the relationship of the two measures to indicate the importance of a balanced approach in mitigation and adaptation, with a focus on the latter. Impacts due to climate change have been occurring widely in various sectors and regions, and are expected to be exacerbated in future. Even if mitigation succeeds in achieving the goal of stabilization, climate change will proceed to a certain extent. Therefore, to address the risks of climate change, adaptation is inevitable for both developing and developed countries. Particularly, adaptation planning and implementation is an urgent issue for developing countries because of their insufficient infrastructure and low adaptive capacity. Various aspects of adaptation are discussed here including strategies, options, cost, and necessary capacities. The emphasis is on the concept that adaptation should not be isolated, but planned and implemented in balance with other policies such as development, reduction of poverty, security of food and water supplies, and disaster risk management, which is called mainstreaming adaptation.