Climate Change and Disaster Jose Felipe P.

Romero, MSES
Risk Management Mary Evalyn Rose G. Romero, Ph.D.
College of Agriculture
ISU, Echague

LEARNING CONTENT
MODULE 5
REPONSES AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE:
MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION

In general, climate solutions fall into two big buckets — “mitigation” and “adaptation.”
Increasingly, government and community organizations also talk about measures to
increase climate “resilience.” These concepts are not distinct, and are all inter-related.

5.1 Climate Change Mitigation

5.1.1 Climate Change Mitigation Defined

Mitigation refers to “measures to reduce

the amount and speed of future climate
change by reducing emissions of heat-
trapping gases or removing carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere. It refers to
actions taken to reduce the likelihood as
well as likely magnitude of global
increases in temperature and extreme
weather events, by individual or collective
action that reduces the concentrations of
greenhouse gases, either by reducing
emissions or by increasing their
absorption.

There are many mitigation strategies that offer feasible and cost-effective ways to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. These include:

 the use of clean and renewable energy for electricity production;

 walking, biking, and using low-carbon or zero emission vehicles;
 reducing meat consumption;
 less air travel;
 changing agricultural practices;
 limiting deforestation;
 planting trees

1
5.1.2 Main Approaches for GHG Mitigation

 Sustainable Forest Management is a critical and cost-effective means of helping to

address climate change and mitigate GHG emissions. Reducing the amount of C that
is returned to the atmosphere through REDUCED deforestation and degradation is a
key mitigation strategy.

 Trees and grasses are composed of carbon; burning them produces greenhouse
gases.
 Cultivating the soils after deforestation further contributes to climate change;
cultivation oxidizes 25-30% of the organic matter in the upper meter of soil and
releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
 Forests also emit greenhouse gases to the atmosphere when they are logged – only
 The trees are harvested end up as wood products, so the majority of the forest
vegetation ends up as waste and as that waste decays, carbon is released into the
atmosphere.
 Planting trees and restoring forests reverses the flux of carbon in the cycle,
withdrawing carbon from the atmosphere and accumulating it again in the soils and
vegetation through photosynthesis.

 Avoid conversion of forests

 Forest conversion (to non-forest) and land development liberate carbon from biomass
and soil stocks.
 Post-deforestation soil cultivation releases 20 to 30% carbon stored in soils.
 Conversion of forests to other land uses emits large quantities of carbon stored in
both the vegetation and the soil to the atmosphere.

 Management actions:
 Global: provide incentives to reduce deforestation and degradation
 Regional to Local:
Institute and enforce policies to address drivers of deforestation and degradation
Carefully manage fire, drought, disease, and invasive species

2
 Sequestration in forests: Removing CO2 and storing carbon

 Forest management actions to increase carbon storage:

 Avoid deforestation, promote afforestation and reforestation
 Reduce harvest impacts & wastes
 Control forest fire, pests, and disease
 Increase forest growth: control competition, enhance regeneration, fertilization, select
for improved/superior stock
 Manage for higher C stocks in stands

 Forest management actions to increase carbon storage:

 Plant trees!
 Planting trees will increase carbon storage.

3
5.2 Climate Change Adaptation

5.2..1 Climate Change Adaptation Defined

Adaptation to climate change refers to measures taken to reduce the harmful impacts of
climate change or take advantage of any beneficial opportunities through “adjustments in
natural or human systems.” It refers to actions taken to protect life or property against possible
adverse impacts of climate change, such as intense storms or hurricanes, resulting winds or
flooding, or more gradual risks like sea-level rise, i.e., actions that reduce the impacts of
climate risks.

Adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to

actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts. It refers to changes in
processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from
opportunities associated with climate change. It is the process by which institutions,
organizations, communities and individuals respond to harmful impacts of climate change.

5.2.2 Planned versus Autonomous Adaptation

Planned adaptation often is interpreted as the result of a deliberate policy decision on the part
of a public agency, based on an awareness that conditions are about to change or have
changed and that action is required to minimize losses or benefit from opportunities (Pittock
and Jones, 2000). Autonomous adaptations are widely interpreted as initiatives by private
actors rather than by governments, usually triggered by market or welfare changes induced
by actual or anticipated climate change (Leary, 1999).

Smith et al. (1996) describe

autonomous adaptations as those
that occur “naturally,” without
interventions by public agencies,
whereas planned adaptations are
called “intervention strategies.”
Thus defined, autonomous and
planned adaptation largely
correspond with private and public
adaptation, respectively (see Fig.
5.1).
Fig. 5.1 Places of adaptation in the climate change issue (Smit et
al., 1999).

This module focuses on adaptation strategies consciously undertaken by humans, including

those in economic sectors, managed ecosystems, resource use systems, settlements,
communities, and regions. In human systems, adaptation is undertaken by private decision
makers and by public agencies or governments

4
5.2.3 Rationale and Objectives for Planned Adaptation

Numerous reasons have been given for pursuing planned adaptations at this time (see Table
18-1). Public adaptation initiatives are regarded not as a substitute for reducing GHG
emissions but as a necessary strategy to manage the impacts of climate change (Burton,
1996; Pielke, 1998). Adaptation can yield benefits regardless of the uncertainty and nature of
climate change (Ali, 1999). Fankhauser et al. (1998) and Leary (1999) outline rationales for
public adaptation policies or projects relative to relying on private actions. Leary concludes
that “we cannot rely solely or heavily on autonomous adjustments of private agents to protect
public goods and should examine public policy responses to do so.” Planned anticipatory
adaptation, as recognized in the UNFCCC (Article 3.3), is aimed at reducing a system’s
vulnerability by diminishing risk or improving adaptive capacity.

Table 5 – 1 Six reasons to adapt to climate change now (Burton, 1996).

5.2.4 Adaptation Strategies

Adaptation strategies are needed to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change and allow
communities to thrive in the face of climate change. The impacts of climate change are already
evident – in extreme weather, more explosive wildfires, higher temperatures, and changes in
the distribution of disease-carrying vectors. Because GHG persist in the atmosphere for a
long time, more serious climate impacts would be experienced even if we halted all GHG
emissions today.

Adaptation are “initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human
systems against actual or expected climate change effects.” (IPCC 2007).

5
Adaptations vary according to the system in which they occur, who undertakes them, the
climatic stimuli that prompts them, and their timing, functions, forms, and effects. In
unmanaged natural systems, adaptation is autonomous and reactive; it is the process by
which species and ecosystems respond to changed conditions.

Human system adaptation can be motivated by private or public interest (i.e., who adapts?).
Private decision makers include individuals, households, businesses, and corporations; public
interests are served by governments at all levels. The roles of public and private participants
are distinct but not unrelated. Table 5 – 2 shows examples of multilevel adaptive measures
for some anticipated health outcomes of global climate change (Patz, 1996) while Table 5 –
3 presents examples of adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector.

In coastal zone studies, comprehensive lists of potential adaptation measures are presented.
These adaptations include (Al-Farouq and Huq, 1996; Jallow, 1996; Rijsberman and van
Velzen, 1996; Teves et al., 1996; Mimura and Harasawa, 2000):
 a wide array of engineering measures, improvements, or changes, including
agricultural practices that are more flood-resistant;
 negotiating regional water-sharing agreements;
 providing efficient mechanisms for disaster management;
 developing desalination techniques;
 planting mangrove belts to provide flood protection;
 planting salt-tolerant varieties of vegetation;
 improving drainage facilities;
 establishing setback policies for new developments;
 developing food insurance schemes;
 devising flood early warning systems

Table 5 – 2 Examples of multilevel adaptive measures for some anticipated health

outcomes of global climate change (Patz, 1996).

6
Table 5 – 3 Adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector (adapted from Smit, 1993;
Carter, 1996).

Adaptations have been distinguished according to individuals’ choice options as well,

including “bear losses,” “share losses,” “modify threats,” “prevent effects,” “change use,” and
“change location” (Burton et al., 1993; Rayner and Malone, 1998). The choice typology has
been extended to include the role of community structures, institutional arrangements, and
public policies (Downing et al., 1997; UNEP, 1998; see Fig. 5.2).

Figure 5.2 Classification of adaptation options (Burton, 1996).