Imagine you’re the mayor of a coastal city facing floods from rising sea levels. How would you take on this challenge? Well, you could build new roads and power plants farther inland to protect them from flood water. You might choose to restore natural defenses like wetlands, and you’ll probably want to create an early warning system to keep residents safe. These are just a few of the ways you could respond to the floods your city is facing.

Exploring adaptation solutions

Climate change adaptation involves strategies and solutions to protect people, places, and ecosystems from climate change. Four key areas of adaptation are: agricultural systems, city planning and infrastructure, ecological systems, and emerging technology.

Agricultural systems are the ways we farm crops and raise livestock for food. Worldwide, we will need to change our agricultural systems as climatic conditions change. However, we must also produce enough food to feed an expanding global population. This is especially important in areas facing increased droughts and storms. In these areas, we will need to invest in growing crops that can withstand these changing conditions.

City planning and infrastructure solutions involve changes to the built environment. For example, areas affected by flooding can build sea walls and flood-resistant buildings for protection.

Ecological solutions involve using nature to reduce the effects of climate change. In areas facing severe tropical storms, we can restore wetlands along coastlines, for example. Finally, we will certainly need technological solutions to develop new tools and plans for adaptation. The creation of advanced storm warning systems is a great example.

Evaluating adaptation solutions

It’s clear that climate change affects us in many ways, so we will need many different solutions. But how can a community decide what action to take, and where to focus their resources?

Firstly, local context is key. Each region of the world will be hit by different disasters, with varying degrees of damage. Each region has a different local climate, geography, and socioeconomic environment. Together, this means different adaptation solutions will be better suited to different regions.

However, we can still evaluate and compare solutions overall based on three key points. First, time: How quickly can the solution make a difference? Second, cost: How much will it cost to implement, both upfront and in the long term? And third, impact potential: How much difference will the solution make on human and natural well-being? While this is not a complete list, it’s a helpful starting place.

Let’s start with drought-tolerant crops as an example. Droughts can affect immediate drinking water availability and long-term farming success. As we experience more frequent and longer droughts, crops that are sensitive to drought will likely die, leading to massive food shortages. However, if we focus on both the development and distribution of drought-tolerant plants, we can drastically improve food supply. Now, let’s evaluate the importance of this solution.

1. Time. Some strains of drought-resistant plants, such as maize, already exist. Only a short time is needed to mass produce and distribute their seeds. Other crops will require more time for scientists to develop, but once planted, these crops will immediately increase the strength of the local food system, reducing mass crop loss from drought.
2. Cost. The main costs associated with drought-tolerant crops are related to research and distribution. However, we know that for every dollar invested in CGIAR (or Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, one of the largest international agriculture research institutions), six dollars in benefits are generated. This means the costs are well worth the benefits.
3. Impact potential. Many regions around the world are facing longer periods of drought. Drought-tolerant crops can make a big difference because many of these vulnerable regions produce much of the world’s food supply. Any threat to their crop productivity threatens food prices and accessibility everywhere. What’s more, these regions are home to millions of people who grow the food their families eat. Drought-tolerant crops have a huge chance to positively impact the lives of these farmers.

So what do you think? Are drought-tolerant crops a productive place to focus our efforts? They can be utilized quickly with widespread, immediate effects and they have a relatively low cost relative to the benefits they produce. And drought-tolerant crops can make a significant impact for millions of people worldwide, particularly low-income farmers.

Implementing adaptation solutions

So far, we’ve looked at how we can categorize adaptation solutions and the criteria we can use to evaluate them. Now we must think about who is responsible for developing and implementing these solutions.

A key challenge with adaptation is that many of those who are most at risk are the least responsible. Some communities and regions of the world are already feeling the effects of climate change. This is not only due to their location, but reasons such as lack of resources, historical inequities, lack of political power, and heavy reliance on the land. For these communities, the effects of climate change are already here. Without adaptation solutions, these communities will suffer the most. But who will pay for adaptation solutions to help these communities if they cannot pay themselves?

Take the example of drought-tolerant crops. Who should pay for the development and distribution of those seeds? Should it be the farmers who will grow the crops, or should the countries that caused the most greenhouse gases historically be responsible? Or should it be the nations that are currently responsible for emissions, big corporations, industries, or even the people with the highest emissions?

Regardless of who is responsible, these communities must not be ignored. In fact, we will need their input and support in tackling adaptation. Any adaptation solution we pursue must ensure that everyone—in particular, those who are most at risk and least responsible—can survive and thrive in the face of climate change.