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Adaptation to Climate Change

More Than Technology

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Climate

Abstract

The traditional view of adaptation to climate change tends to assume that a national government is responsible for implementing technological adaptation measures (e.g., seeds, dams, irrigation schemes), which are selected on the basis of specific knowledge of future climate conditions. This view has been widely challenged but is still prevalent within sectors dominated by engineering, such as water and coastal management. The purpose of this chapter is to show that while technology has an important part to play in climate adaptation, its effectiveness relies on it being part of a broader strategy that acknowledges uncertainty and addresses the underlying drivers of people’s current and future vulnerability. Such a strategy requires the integration of adaptation with human and economic development efforts.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    These tables are simplified versions of the ones provided in the IPCC chapter, but they serve to illustrate the diversity of technologies available. More details can be found in Klein et al. [18, 21].

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Acknowledgements

Research presented in this paper contributes to the Nordic Centre of Excellence for Strategic Adaptation Research (NORD-STAR), which is funded by the Norden Top-level Research Initiative sub-programme ‘Effect Studies and Adaptation to Climate Change’. It is based on a presentation to the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation and Security, which took place in Hella, Iceland, on 6–10 June 2010. The author thanks the workshop organizers for the opportunity to present, and the workshop participants for their constructive comments and suggestions. This chapter combines insights from four previous publications [17–19, 21]. The author thanks the co-authors of those publications for their contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stockholm Environment Institute and Linköping University, Stockholm, Sweden

    R. J. T. Klein

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  1. R. J. T. Klein
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Correspondence to R. J. T. Klein .

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  1. US Army Corps of Engineers, Virginia Rd. 696, Concord, 01742, USA

    Igor Linkov

  2. US Army Engin. Research & Developm. Ctr., Halls Ferry Road 3909, Vicksburg, 39180-6199, USA

    Todd S. Bridges

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Klein, R.J.T. (2011). Adaptation to Climate Change. In: Linkov, I., Bridges, T. (eds) Climate. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1770-1_9

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