Climate Change Adaptation in Developed Nations: From Theory to Practice

ISBN-13: 9789400705661 / Angielski / Twarda / 2011 / 512 str.

James D. Ford; Lea Berrang-Ford

Opis

It is now widely accepted that adaptation will be necessary if we are to manage the risks posed by climate change. What we know about adaptation, however, is limited. While there is a well established body of scholarship proposing assessment approaches and explaining concepts, few studies have examined if and how adaptation is taking place at a national or regional level.

Spis treści

Section I: Introduction and Overview
1. Introduction
2. Climate Change Adaptation as a Social Process
3. Entering the Period of Consequences: The Explosive US Awakening to the Need for Adaptation
4. Perspectives on Adaptation to Climate Change in Europe
5. The Australian Experience
6. Leading the UK Adaptation Agenda: A Landscape of Stakeholders and Networked Organizations for Adaptation to Climate Change
7. Adaptation to Climate Change in Canada: A Multi-level Mosaic
Section II: Adaptation in the Public Health Sector
8. Overview: Adaptive Management for the Health Risks of Climate Change
9. Behavioral Health and Risk Perception: Factors in Strengthening Community Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness
10. Lateral Public Health: A Comprehensive Approach to Adaptation in Urban Environments
11. Public Health in Canada and Adaptation to Infectious Disease Risks of Climate Change: Are We Planning or Just Keeping Our Fingers Crossed?
12. Climate Change, Water-related Health Impacts, and Adaptation: Highlights From the Swedish Government’s Commission on Climate and Vulnerability
13. Adaptation to the Heat-related Health Impact of Climate Change in Japan
14. Risk Perception, Health Communication and Adaptation to the Health Impacts of Climate Change in Canada
Section III: Adaptation in the Industrial Sector
15. Overview: Climate Change Adaptation in Industry
16. Impacts Of and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Electricity Sector in Germany and France
17. The Role of Codes, Standards and Related Instruments in Facilitating Adaptation to Climate Change
18. Learning Adaptation: Climate-related Risk Management in the Insurance Industry
19. Adaptive Capacity of Forest Management Systems on Publicly Owned Forested Landscapes in Canada
Section IV: Adaptation in the Urban Environment
20. Overview: Climate Change Adaptation in the Urban Environment
21. Integrated Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Urban Settlements: Lessons from Five Australian Cases
22. The Role of Local Government in Adapting to Climate Change: Lessons from New-Zealand
23. Perceptions of Risk and Limits for Climate Change Adaptation: Case Studies of Two Swedish Urban Regions
24. Asking the Climate Question: Climate Change Adaptation in King County, Washington
Section V: Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector
25. Overview: Climate Change Adaptation in the Agricultural Sector
26. Climate Change and Adaptation of Wheat Producing Nations: Selected Case Studies from Canada and Australia
27. Use of Modern Portfolio Theory to Evaluate Diversification of Agricultural Land Use as An Adaptation to Climate Change Risks in the Tisza River Basin
28. Government Action to Promote Sustainable Adaptation by the Agriculture and Land Management Sector in England
Section VI: Adaptation in Rural and Resource-dependent Communities
29. Overview: Climate Change Adaptation in Rural and Resource-dependent Communities
30. Scenarios for Engaging a Rural Australian Community in Climate Change Adaptation Work
31. Coordinating Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation Policy in Resource-dependent Communities: A Case Study from the Tibetan Plateau
32. Mainstreaming Climate Change in Drinking Water Source Protection in Ontario: Challenges and Opportunities
33. Opportunities and Barriers for Adaptation and Local Adaptation Planning in Canadian Rural and Resource-based Communities
34. Anticipatory Adaptation in Marginalized Communities Within Developed Countries
Section VII: Future Directions
35. Adaptation to Climate Change: Context, Status and Prospects
Index

Blurb

It is now widely accepted that adaptation will be necessary if we are to manage the risks posed by climate change. What we know about adaptation, however, is limited. While there is a well established body of scholarship proposing assessment approaches and explaining concepts, few studies have examined if and how adaptation is taking place at a national or regional level. This deficit in understanding is particularly pronounced in developed nations which have typically been assumed to have a low vulnerability to climate change. Yet as recent research highlights, this assumption is misplaced: developed nations are experiencing the most pronounced changes in climatic conditions globally and have significant pockets of vulnerability. Chapters in this book profile cases from different sectors in developed nations where specific adaptation measures have been identified, implemented, and evaluated. The contributions provide practical advice and guidance that can help guide adaptation planning in multiple contexts, identifying transferable lessons.

It is a comprehensive and timely piece of work on an emerging body of literature that is critical for both academics and policy makers to be aware of and learn from in regards to the importance of adaptation and adaptation needs associated with climate change and variability.  It is a strong step forward in bringing together this literature and thinking in one collective piece of writing.

Chris Furgal, Trent University, Canada

Lead Author IPCC 4^th Assessment Report

 

This volume is ambitious in scope and distinctive in focus. It is not about climate change science or mitigation or impacts... but focuses clearly on the processes of adaptation. This volume represents a valuable compilation of ideas, methods and applications dealing with adaptation to climate change in developed nations.

Barry Smit, University of Guelph, Canada

Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Change

 

This book provides key insights from leading scholars who are addressing an important but neglected question: How easy is it to adapt to climate change in practice? Focusing on evidence from developed countries, the contributions provide reasons for both optimism and concern, and lessons that are critical for anyone interested in climate change policy and a sustainable future.

Karen O’Brien, University of Oslo, Norway

Chair of Global Environmental Change and Human Security