10 – Climate Resilience
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Do we have the capability to adapt to the consequences of a warming world? Week 10 defines adaptation and resilience, two terms that speak to a community capability to withstand the adverse impacts of climate change.
Introduction
Stockholm Environment Institute: Four generations of climate adaptation
Key Definitions & Approaches
“Around 22% of global CO2 emissions stem from the production of goods that are, ultimately, consumed in a different country. However, traditional inventories do not include emissions associated with imported goods…”
Read p. 3-4 (Box SPM1-2)
Background on Vulnerability & Adaptation
IPCC Overview
Two Interpretations of Vulnerability in Climate Change Research
“The term ‘vulnerability’ is used in many different ways by various scholarly communities. The resulting disagreement about the appropriate definition of vulnerability is a frequent cause for misunderstanding in interdisciplinary research on climate change and a challenge for attempts to develop formal models of vulnerability…“
Read p.163 (Figure 4)
May 18, 2006 • Global Environmental Change
Why we need to rethink ‘maladaptation’
“‘Maladaptation’ is a hot topic in the climate change community. With increasing global attention and finance being poured into adaptation, people are understandably concerned that actions taken to respond to climate change may end up increasing people’s vulnerability now or in the future…“
June 29, 2015 • Devex
Key Takeaways
“The assessment of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) evaluates how patterns of risks and potential benefits are shifting due to climate change since 2007 when the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) was released…”
[Download Ch. 15, Read p.871-872 (Exec Summary) and p.876 (FAQ Box 15.1); Download Ch. 14, Read p.845 (Table 14.1) and p.850 (Table 14.2); Download Ch. 16, Read p.905-908 (Section 16.2), p.909 (Table 16.1), and p.920 (Box 16.4)]
Vulnerability before adaptation: Toward transformative climate action.
“Scholars have long talked of climate-related risk in terms of vulnerability…”
August 12, 2011 • Global Environmental Change
Disaster Risk Reduction
An Integrated Disaster Risk Approach
Ten Essentials for Sendai Priorities for Action
“This Guide responds to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015- 2030 (Sendai Framework) concern that more dedicated action needs to be focused on tackling underlying disaster risk drivers and strengthening good governance in disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies, at all levels and across sectors and actors…”
Read Appendix I, p. 85-90
Climate Change Adaptation and DRR
“Actions that range from incremental steps to transformational changes are essential for reducing risk from weather and climate extremes…”
Read p.439-440
Local DRR Strategies and Plans in Urban Areas
“For a local DRR strategy to be fully aligned with the Sendai Framework, it should be coherent with all the above-mentioned global frameworks, as well as being integrated into the development agenda for the relevant urban area or local government, subnational or national territory…”
Download Ch.14 and Read p.365-371, p.380-383
Critical Perspectives on Resilience
The end of sustainability
“It is time to move past the concept of sustainability. The realities of the Anthropocene warrant this conclusion…”
May 2014 • Society & Natural Resources
Challenges for resilience policy and practice
“Many scholars have noted the wide range of definitions and interpretations of resilience emerging from multiple disciplines…”
Read p.7, p.9-12, and p.16-19
Comparing Resilience and Sustainability
“Similarities and differences between resilience and sustainability...”
Read p.127 (Table 2)
October 14, 2014 • Sustainability Science
Resilience: Meaningless jargon or development solution?
“‘Resilience’ is probably the sexiest new buzzword in international development. But as its popularity has grown, so has criticism of the use of ill-defined terminology in a sector that claims to be accountable…”
March 5, 2013 • The Guardian
Urban resilience for whom, what, when, where, and why?
“Urbanization processes drive change in the Anthropocene, presenting environmental and social challenges that are unprecedented in scale, scope, and complexity…”
Read p.9 (Table 1)
July 12, 2016 • Urban Geography
UN Habitat: Building the Climate Resilience of the Urban Poor
Pick One Topic to Explore
Built Infrastructure
Information & Communication Technology
Retreat
Adaptation Through Finance & Institutions
Indigenous Technologies
Ecosystem-based Adaptation
Community-based Adaptation
Gender-Sensitive Adaptation
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Optional Resources
Leverage Points
“As the 21st century unfolds, an increasing majority of the world’s population will live in cities. Human wellbeing in cities relies on a complex web of interconnected institutions, infrastructure and information…“
1999 • Sustainability Institute
Global Resilience Partnership Projects
Making space for proactive adaptation of rapidly changing coasts: a windows of opportunity approach
“Coastlines are very often places where the impacts of global change are felt most keenly, and they are also often sites of high values and intense use for industry, human habitation, nature conservation and recreation…”
August 2017 • Sustainability
Louisiana Breaks Ground on Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement Project Amid Pandemic Making Cities Resilient Handbook
“The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t changed life much for Chris Burnet, a lifelong resident of Isle de Jean Charles, a quickly eroding strip of land among south Louisiana’s wetlands…“
May 22, 2020 • DeSmog
100RC Framework
“As the 21st century unfolds, an increasing majority of the world’s population will live in cities. Human wellbeing in cities relies on a complex web of interconnected institutions, infrastructure and information...”
Updated December 2015 • Rockefeller Foundation
Adapting Cities to Extreme Flood Events
Addressing the risk of maladaptation to climate change
“This paper reviews the current theoretical scholarship on maladaptation and pro- vides some specific case studies—in the Maldives, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Bangladesh—to advance the field by offering an improved conceptual under- standing and more practice-oriented insights…”
May 2016 • Wiley Periodicals
CAKE
“Welcome to the world’s largest and most used source of climate adaptation case studies and resources. Share lessons, ideas, and opportunities with others in the field...”
Accessed September 2020 • CAKE
Unlocking the Potential for Urban Climate Adaptation
“Cities are increasingly integrating climate adaptation priorities into development policies and plans. However, there remains a gap in understanding how incremental urban adaptation solutions can lead to more transformative change over the long term…”
2019 • World Resources Institute
PreventionWeb
“Explore Preventionweb knowledge base and filter your search results by year, content type, location, theme and hazard…”
Accessed September 2020 • PreventionWeb
TEDx: Cities & Climate Change
Flood Resilience Portal
“The Flood Resilience Portal provides practitioners who live and work in flood-affected communities with easy access to the resources they need to build resilience to floods…”
Accessed August 2020 • Zurich Flood Resilience Program
TED: How city mayors are taking action on climate change
Some CA Adaptation Plans
“View examples of local climate action plans from California cities and counties that participate in the Beacon Program…”
Accessed September 2020 • Institute for Local Government
Trapped populations
“The effects of global environmental change, including coastal flooding, reduced rainfall in drylands and water scarcity, will almost certainly alter patterns of human migration…”
October 20, 2011 • Nature Magazine
Resilience Alliance
“The Resilience Alliance is a research organization that focuses on resilience in social-ecological systems as a basis for sustainability...”
Accessed September 2020 • Resilience Alliance
weADAPT
“weADAPT is a collaborative platform on climate change adaptation issues. It allows practitioners, researchers and policy-makers to access credible, high-quality information and connect with one another...”
Accessed September 2020 • weADAPT