To What Extent Can Humans Adapt To Climate Change?
• Some degree of adaptation will undoubtedly be necessary to respond to the coming climate change that is unavoidable. • Depending on the rate and magnitude of climate change, humans can invest in infrastructure and other societal systems to ameliorate its consequences. • However, different regions and sectors will differ in their ability to adapt. Natural ecosystems have inherent, but limited capability to adapt to climate change, which is further impeded by other human impacts to the environment such as development and habitat fragmentation. Even human societies, particularly developing countries, have limited resources to respond to the challenge of climate change. • Some climate related impacts are difficult to adapt to. For example, extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, are not easily ameliorated by adaptation measures. • Thus, investing in the reduction of greenhouse gases will offset necessary investments in adaptation in addition to protecting against those adverse
