Isolated and uncoordinated - Adaptation measures to the effects of climate change

20 October 2023, by Cäcilie Melzer

Photo: pixabay

In October, several media picked up the topic of adapting to the consequences of climate change. They quote Kerstin Jantke, environmental scientist in the Cluster of Excellence for Climate Research CLICCS and senior researcher at FNK. The occasion is a meta-study of 30 scientists conducted by the Cluster of Excellence in Hamburg and the University of Munich. To obtain an overview of the progress of adaptation processes, the scientists evaluated 1400 scientific publications.

In a heise online article, Jantke commented on the meta-study: “Our study indicates that adaptation to climate change is still taking place isolated and uncoordinated.” In some world regions, such as Europe, North America and Australia, governments are involved in the reconstruction and protection of infrastructure and particularly vulnerable areas. In the Global South, it is mainly individuals and households that are trying to prepare for the impacts of climate change. Farmers, for example, are growing heat- and drought-resistant crops, constructing flood dams or drilling deeper wells. On the other hand, politicians and administrations in cities are trying to implement adaptation measures.

„Adaptation measures do not yet have the same priority as climate protection”, Jantke told Deutschlandfunk’s science program Nova. The aim must be to define goals more precisely and hold governments accountable. The results of the study call for an agreement that defines roles and responsibilities.

You can find the whole heise online article here. (German)

Find the whole Nova report here. (German)