Rethinking the role of adaptation in climate policy

Since the late 1980s, scientists and policy makers have devoted considerable attention and resources to the issue of global climate change. Domestic and international policies in response focus primarily on prevention of future climate impacts on society through the mitigation of carbon dioxide emissions, Academic and political attention is also largely focused on issues of mitigation, Adaptation refers to adjustments in individual, group, and institutional behavior in order to reduce society's vulnerabilities to climate, and thus reduce its impacts. In 1996, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wrote that adaptation offers a 'very powerful option' for responding to climate change and ought to be viewed as a 'complement' to mitigation efforts. Yet, the IPCC also wrote that 'little attention has been paid to any possible tradeoff between both types of options'. This paper discusses the limitations of mitigation responses and the need for adaptation to occupy a larger role in climate policy. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.