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Book Cal Adapt and the Usability of Climate Adaptation Tools

Download or read book Cal Adapt and the Usability of Climate Adaptation Tools written by Melissa Suzel Deas and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Communities around the globe have already begun to feel the impacts of climate change. Looking forward, the impact will only become more pronounced. As such, an increasing number of municipalities, counties, and states are asking how they can prepare. Various non-profits, public entities, and even the private sector are trying to facilitate smart preparedness policies by providing tools that forecast expected changes and provide guidance for vulnerability assessments. Many of these tools take the form of map-based visualizations showing downscaled climate data. This thesis explores whether communities are actually able to use this downscaled data to inform decisions and consider policy options that will increase their resilience. I specifically focus on a tool produced by the State of California called Cal-Adapt. Based on interviews with local officials and climate professionals across California, I find that climate tools like Cal-Adapt do provide value. They deliver information needed by local officials to think through future conditions and lobby for the resources they need. Despite this, Cal-Adapt is not reaching its full potential. Local action is impaired by an ambiguous policy objective at the state level regarding what local officials ought to be doing to respond to climate change. This lack of guidance is reflected in Cal-Adapt, which fails to support specific decisions. As a contrast to Cal-Adapt, I look at two other web-based tools, and one case study of a county that applied climate data quite heavily in its vulnerability assessment. In all three examples, the data developers employed a collaborative approach that brought decision-makers, stakeholders, and scientists together. All three tools gained power through this collaborative process, making their data more usable when compared to Cal- Adapt. However, even in places with access to collaboratively built tools, the state's failure to mandate action on climate preparedness continued to impair action.

Book Making Climate Assessments Work

    Book Details:
  • Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
  • Publisher : National Academies Press
  • Release : 2019-01-11
  • ISBN : 0309487188
  • Pages : 87 pages

Download or read book Making Climate Assessments Work written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-01-11 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate assessment activities are increasingly driven by subnational organizationsâ€"city, county, and state governments; utilities and private companies; and stakeholder groups and engaged publicsâ€"trying to better serve their constituents, customers, and members by understanding and preparing for how climate change will impact them locally. Whether the threats are drought and wildfires, storm surge and sea level rise, or heat waves and urban heat islands, the warming climate is affecting people and communities across the country. To explore the growing role of subnational climate assessments and action, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted the 2-day workshop on August 14-15, 2018. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Book Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change

Download or read book Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-06 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across the United States, impacts of climate change are already evident. Heat waves have become more frequent and intense, cold extremes have become less frequent, and patterns of rainfall are likely changing. The proportion of precipitation that falls as rain rather than snow has increased across the western United States and Arctic sea ice has been reduced significantly. Sea level has been rising faster than at any time in recent history, threatening the natural and built environments on the coasts. Even if emissions of greenhouse gases were substantially reduced now, climate change and its resulting impacts would continue for some time to come. To date, decisions related to the management and protection of the nation's people, resources, and infrastructure have been based on records in the recent past, when climate was relatively stable. Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change, part of the congressionally requested America's Climate Choices suite of studies, calls for a new paradigm-one that considers a range of possible future climate conditions and impacts that may be well outside the realm of past experience. Adaptation requires actions from many decision makers in federal, state, tribal, and local governments; the private sector; non-governmental organizations; and community groups. However, current efforts are hampered by a lack of solid information about the benefits, costs, and effectiveness of various adaptation options; climate information on regional and local scales; and a lack of coordination. Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change calls for a national adaptation strategy that provides needed technical and scientific resources, incentives to begin adaptation planning, guidance across jurisdictions, shared lessons learned, and support of scientific research to expand knowledge of impacts and adaptation.

Book Decision making Under Uncertainty

Download or read book Decision making Under Uncertainty written by Sara Moore and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Successful Adaptation to Climate Change

Download or read book Successful Adaptation to Climate Change written by Susanne C. Moser and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-18 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does successful adaptation look like? This is a question we are frequently asked by planners, policy makers and other professionals charged with the task of developing and implementing adaptation strategies. While adaptation is increasingly recognized as an important climate risk management strategy, and on-the-ground adaptation planning activity is becoming more common-place, there is no clear guidance as to what success would look like, what to aim for and how to judge progress. This edited volume makes significant progress toward unpacking the question of successful adaptation, offering both scientifically informed and practice-relevant answers from various sectors and regions of the world. It brings together 18 chapters from leading experts within the field to present careful analyses of different cases and situations, questioning throughout commonly avowed truisms and unspoken assumptions that have pervaded climate adaptation science and practice to date. This book offers not one answer but demonstrates how the question of success in important ways is normative and context specific. It identifies the various dimensions of success, such as economic, political, institutional, ecological, and social, explores the tensions between them, and compiles encouraging evidence that resolutions can be found. The book appraises how climatic and non-climatic stressors play a role, what role science does and can play in adaptation decision making, and how trade-offs and other concerns and priorities shape adaptation planning and implementation on the ground. This is timely interdisciplinary text sheds light on key issues that arise in on-the-ground adaptation to climate change. It bridges the gap between science and practical application of successful adaptation strategies and will be of interest to both students, academics and practitioners.

Book Climate Adaptation Futures

Download or read book Climate Adaptation Futures written by Jean P. Palutikof and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-02-04 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adaptation is the poor cousin of the climate change challenge - the glamour of international debate is around global mitigation agreements, while the bottom-up activities of adaptation, carried out in community halls and local government offices, are often overlooked. Yet, as international forums fail to deliver reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the world is realising that effective adaptation will be essential across all sectors to deal with the unavoidable impacts of climate change. The need to understand how to adapt effectively, and to develop appropriate adaptation options and actions, is becoming increasingly urgent. This book reports the current state of knowledge on climate change adaptation, and seeks to expose and debate key issues in adaptation research and practice. It is framed around a number of critical areas of adaptation theory and practice, including: Advances in adaptation thinking, Enabling frameworks and policy for adaptation, Engaging and communicating with practitioners, Key challenges in adaptation and development, Management of natural systems and agriculture under climate change, Ensuring water security under a changing climate, Urban infrastructure and livelihoods, and The nexus between extremes, disaster management and adaptation. It includes contributions from many of the leading thinkers and practitioners in adaptation today. The book is based on key contributions from the First International Conference on Climate Change Adaptation ‘Climate Adaptation Futures’, held on the Gold Coast, Australia, in June 2010. That three-day meeting of over 1000 researchers and practitioners in adaptation from 50 countries was the first of its kind. Readership: The book is essential reading for a wide range of individuals involved in climate change adaptation, including: Researchers, Communication specialists, Decision-makers and policy makers (e.g. government staff, local council staff), On-ground adaptation practitioners (e.g. aid agencies, government workers, NGOs), Postgraduate and graduate students, and Consultants.

Book Applied Studies in Climate Adaptation

Download or read book Applied Studies in Climate Adaptation written by Jean P. Palutikof and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-10-27 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book advances knowledge about climate change adaptation practices through a series of case studies. It presents important evidence about adaptation practices in agriculture, businesses, the coastal zone, community services, disaster management, ecosystems, indigneous populations, and settlements and infrastructure. In addition to 38 case studies across these sectors, the book contains horizon-scoping essays from international experts in adaptation research, including Hallie Eakin, Susanne Moser, Jonathon Overpeck, Bill Solecki, and Gary Yohe. Australia’s social-ecological systems have a long history of adapting to climate variability and change, and in recent decades has been a world-leader in implementing and researching adaptation, making this book of universal relevance to all those working to adapt our environment and societies to climate change.

Book Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design

Download or read book Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design written by Patrick A. Ray and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-08-20 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Confronting Climate Uncertainty in Water Resources Planning and Project Design describes an approach to facing two fundamental and unavoidable issues brought about by climate change uncertainty in water resources planning and project design. The first is a risk assessment problem. The second relates to risk management. This book provides background on the risks relevant in water systems planning, the different approaches to scenario definition in water system planning, and an introduction to the decision-scaling methodology upon which the decision tree is based. The decision tree is described as a scientifically defensible, repeatable, direct and clear method for demonstrating the robustness of a project to climate change. While applicable to all water resources projects, it allocates effort to projects in a way that is consistent with their potential sensitivity to climate risk. The process was designed to be hierarchical, with different stages or phases of analysis triggered based on the findings of the previous phase. An application example is provided followed by a descriptions of some of the tools available for decision making under uncertainty and methods available for climate risk management. The tool was designed for the World Bank but can be applicable in other scenarios where similar challenges arise.

Book Climate Change Adaptation in Practice

Download or read book Climate Change Adaptation in Practice written by Philipp Schmidt-Thome and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-04-17 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change adaptation is increasingly recognized as complementary part to climate change mitigation. Climate change affects sea level, the extent of flood prone areas and precipitation patterns among many others. To adapt to these changes, the tasks of municipalities and cities are to implement policies and strategies for changes in land use and coastal management as part of their future development. It is of vital importance to address the uncertainties of climate change scenarios when proposing adaptation measures that are socially viable and economically reasonable. The decision making process, promoted here, is based on scientific excellence as well on an integrated communication process. This book provides a comprehensive overview of key elements required for effective analysis and assessment of climate change impacts, economic cost-benefit analysis, communication processes and creation and transfer of knowledge, governance issues and implementation of related policies. It describes the results achieved by the BaltCICA (www.baltcica.org) project whose contributors come from the scientific and public administration communities. The regional cooperation has led to the implementation of climate change adaptation in several case studies. The BaltCICA project developed concepts, methodologies and tools for climate change adaptation that can be translated across other global regions. Scientists and students working on the development of climate change and adaptation strategies; public administrators in the related fields on local, regional and state level including environment, water management, civil defense; as well as professionals working with adaptation technologies, including engineering, technological solutions, urban planning agencies and construction, will value this innovative book.

Book Climate Change Adaptation for Health and Social Services

Download or read book Climate Change Adaptation for Health and Social Services written by Rae Walker and published by CSIRO PUBLISHING. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate Change Adaptation for Health and Social Services addresses concerns from the health and community services sector, including local government, about how to respond to climate change and its impacts on communities. What should an intervention framework for the community-based health and social services sector contain and how can it complement an organisation's core values, role and work programs? What current direct and indirect impacts of climate change are most relevant to organisations and the communities they serve? Which population groups are most vulnerable to climate change and what are the impacts on them? Above all, what can be done to reduce the current risks from climate change to clients, communities and organisations? Written by expert researchers and practitioners, this book presents existing research, innovative practice and useful tools to support organisations taking practical steps towards adaptation to the impacts of climate change on people. It examines the evidence of climate change impacts on six of the most vulnerable population groups – people with disability; older people; women and children; Aboriginal people; rural people; and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – as well as discussing effective interventions. Other key issues covered include health and social impacts of climate change, adaptation, mitigation, climate change communication, organisational adaptation and a case study of innovation illustrating some of the book’s themes. Accessible, informative and incorporating extensive evidence and experience, Climate Change Adaptation for Health and Social Services is relevant for anyone within the health and community services sector concerned about climate change and its impacts on their community.

Book The Compendium of Adaptation Models for Climate Change

Download or read book The Compendium of Adaptation Models for Climate Change written by Thea Dickinson and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Theory and Practice of Climate Adaptation

Download or read book Theory and Practice of Climate Adaptation written by Fátima Alves and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. As such, both the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP 25) recommendations call for action not only from government, but also from various stakeholders. Apart from the knowledge offered by modeling and forecasts, which allows the readers to understand the problem and how it is likely to develop in the future, the book highlights approaches, methods and tools that can help readers cope with the social, economic and political problems posed by climate change. In other words, the book’s goal is to accelerate developments in the field of climate change adaptation. This book gathers papers presented at the “2nd World Symposium on Climate Change Adaptation”, a joint initiative by the University of Coimbra (Portugal), the Research and Transfer Centre “Sustainable Development and Climate Change Management” at Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), and the International Climate Change Information Programme (ICCIP). The book is truly interdisciplinary, covering various key areas in the field of climate change adaptation. Its focus is on “integrative approaches to implementing climate change adaptation”, and is expected to contribute to the further development of this fast-growing field.

Book Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Change

Download or read book Adaptation Policy Frameworks for Climate Change written by Ian Burton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-11-15 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Adaptation is a process by which individuals, communities and countries seek to cope with the consequences of climate change. The process of adaptation is not new; the idea of incorporating future climate risk into policy-making is. While our understanding of climate change and its potential impacts has become clearer, the availability of practical guidance on adaptation has not kept pace. The development of the Adaptation Policy Framework (APF) is intended to help provide the rapidly evolving process of adaptation policy-making with a much-needed roadmap. Ultimately, the purpose of the APF is to support adaptation processes to protect - and enhance - human well-being in the face of climate change. This volume will be invaluable for everyone working on climate change adaptation and policy-making.

Book The Compendium of Adaptation Models for Climate Change

Download or read book The Compendium of Adaptation Models for Climate Change written by Thea Dickinson and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: