Progress in climate change adaptation in the Arctic
Open Access
- 26 August 2020
- journal article
- review article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Environmental Research Letters
- Vol. 15 (9), 093009
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab9be1
Abstract
Climate adaptation is a priority for Arctic regions which are witnessing some of the most rapid warming globally. Studies have documented examples of adaptation responses in the Arctic, but assessments evaluating if and how progress is being made over time remain scarce. We identify and examine adaptation progress in the Arctic using a systematic tracking methodology to compare adaptations documented during 2014-19 to those documented for the period 2004-2013 in a benchmark study by Fordet al(2014). Utilising the peer reviewed literature as out data source, we find no noticeable increase in reported adaptations across the two time periods, with the profile of adaptations undertaken remaining largely the same. The majority of documented adaptations continue to be reported in North America, are being undertaken most often in the subsistence-based hunting and fishing sector, are primarily developed in response to a combination of climatic and non-climatic stimuli, are reactive and behavioural in nature, and are mainly carried out at the individual/community scale. Climate change is observed, however, to have a more prominent role in motivating adaptation between 2014-19, consistent with intensifying climate-related exposures in the Arctic. There is limited evidence in the reported adaptations analysed that potential opportunities and benefits from the impacts of climate change are being targeted. The paper provides a general characterisation of adaptation across the Arctic and how it is evolving, and needs to be complimented in follow-up work by studies using alternative data sources on adaptation and research at national to regional scales.This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessing climate change vulnerability in Alaska's fishing communitiesFisheries Research, 2015
- Anomalous climatic conditions during winter 2010–2011 and vulnerability of the traditional Inuit food system in Iqaluit, NunavutPolar Record, 2014
- Counting what counts: using local knowledge to improve Arctic resource managementPolar Geography, 2014
- Climate change response in Europe: what’s the reality? Analysis of adaptation and mitigation plans from 200 urban areas in 11 countriesClimatic Change, 2013
- Adaptive governance and institutional strategies for climate-induced community relocations in AlaskaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013
- How to Track Adaptation to Climate Change: A Typology of Approaches for National-Level ApplicationEcology and Society, 2013
- A systematic review of observed climate change adaptation in developed nationsClimatic Change, 2011
- MaladaptationGlobal Environmental Change, 2010
- Dangerous climate change and the importance of adaptation for the Arctic’s Inuit populationEnvironmental Research Letters, 2009
- Implementing adaptation in developed countries: an analysis of progress and trendsClimate Policy, 2007