Adaptation vs. mitigation and the perception battle

A report from Poznan by Aimee Barnes at Climate Biz, where I also have written: The word of the day today in Poland was adaptation.

This is a word that many who work on climate change have hoped to avoid, until somewhat recently. At least part of this aversion has been related to the perception that people may lose interest in the issue if they feel like it's a lost cause. In other words, if we admit climate impacts are already occurring, why not just focus entirely on preparing for the inevitable?

Unfortunately, evidence from many corners of the world is already showing impacts of our changing climate, and the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report on "Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability" documents already observed changes in natural and managed systems related to regional climate change, from changes in water resources and glaciers, to terrestrial biosystems, marine biosystems, human health, and disasters.

Acknowledging this, the Conference of Parties serving as the Meeting of Parties (CMP) focused today on the vulnerability of developing countries to climate changes. While this does not replace the need for mitigation activities, there was a recognition that much more needs to be done to understand, model, build capacity and assess the likely impact of climate change and propose suitable adaptation strategies…..

Edward Hicks, Peaceable Kingdom, 1834