Climate Change Impacts in the United States Third National Climate Assessment [Name] [Date] Adaptation

Adaptation Convening Lead Authors – Rosina Bierbaum, University of Michigan – Arthur Lee, Chevron Corporation – Joel Smith, Stratus Consulting Lead Authors – Maria Blair, Independent – Lynne M. Carter, Louisiana State University – F. Stuart Chapin III, University of Alaska Fairbanks – Susan Ruffo, The Nature Conservancy – Paul Fleming, Seattle Public Utilities Contributing Authors – Shannon McNeeley, Colorado State University – Missy Stults, University of Michigan – Laura Verduzco, Chevron Corporation – Emily Seyller, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research

Key Message 1 Substantial adaptation planning is occurring in the public and private sectors and at all levels of government; however, few measures have been implemented and those that have appear to be incremental changes.

Key Message 2 Barriers to implementation of adaptation include limited funding, policy and legal impediments, and difficulty in anticipating climate-related changes at local scales.

Key Message 3 There is no "one-size fits all” adaptation, but there are similarities in approaches across regions and sectors. Sharing best practices, learning by doing, and iterative and collaborative processes including stakeholder involvement, can help support progress.

Key Message 4 Climate change adaptation actions often fulfill other societal goals, such as sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, or improvements in quality of life, and can therefore be incorporated into existing decision- making processes.

Key Message 5 Vulnerability to climate change is exacerbated by other stresses such as pollution, habitat fragmentation, and poverty. Adaptation to multiple stresses requires assessment of the composite threats as well as tradeoffs amongst costs, benefits, and risks of available options.

Key Message 6 The effectiveness of climate change adaptation has seldom been evaluated, because actions have only recently been initiated and comprehensive evaluation metrics do not yet exist.

Status of State Climate Adaptation Plans Figure source: redrawn from C2ES 2013

Effects of Climate Change on… Figure source: redrawn from C2ES 2008

Adaptation Process Figure source: adapted from NRC 2010

Adaptation Activity

U.S. Drought Monitor: August 14, 2012 Map courtesy of NDMC-UNL

Northwoods Climate Change Response Framework Region Figure Source: USDA Forest Service 2012

Climate Change Impacts in the United States Third National Climate facebook.com/usgcrp #NCA2014 [Name & Contact Info]

Adaptation Key Terms Definitions Adapt, Adaptation: Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment that exploits beneficial opportunities or moderates negative effects. Adaptive Capacity: The potential of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes) to moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, and cope with the consequences. Mitigation: Technological change and substitutions that reduce resource inputs and emissions per unit of output. Although several social, economic, and technological actions would reduce emissions, with respect to climate change, mitigation means implementing actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed and stored by natural and man-made carbon sinks (see Ch. 27: Mitigation).Mitigation Multiple Stressors: Stress that originates from different sources that affect natural, managed, and socioeconomic systems and can cause impacts that are compounded and sometimes unexpected. An example would be when economic or market stress combines with drought to negatively impact farmers. Resilience: A capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant multi-hazard threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment. Risk: A combination of the magnitude of the potential consequence(s) of climate change impact(s) and the likelihood that the consequence(s) will occur. Vulnerability: The degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity.