Assets and Adaptation: An Emerging Debate

Previously viewed as a somewhat defeatist response toclimate change, adaptation is now seen as an essentialcomponent of any climate policy (Pielke et al. 2007).There are three main reasons for this increase ininterest. First, that the impacts of climate change arealready being observed and, because of lags in thenatural system, more impacts are inevitable (Burton etal. 2002). Second, that mitigation responses have beenslow and inadequate, making adaptation all the morenecessary (Reid and Huq 2007). And third, aware thatthey are likely to bear the greatest physical impactsfrom climate change, governments in developingcountries are increasingly demanding greater attentionto adaptation on the international stage