Adaptation to compound climate risks: A systematic global stocktake
Nicholas P. Simpson,
Portia Adade Williams,
Katharine J. Mach,
Lea Berrang-Ford,
Robbert Biesbroek,
Marjolijn Haasnoot,
Alcade C. Segnon,
Donovan Campbell,
Justice Issah Musah-Surugu,
Elphin Tom Joe,
Abraham Marshall Nunbogu,
Salma Sabour,
Andreas L.S. Meyer,
Talbot M. Andrews,
Chandni Singh,
A.R. Siders,
Judy Lawrence,
Maarten van Aalst,
Christopher H. Trisos
Affiliations
Nicholas P. Simpson
African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Corresponding author
Portia Adade Williams
CSIR-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute, Accra, Ghana; Corresponding author
Katharine J. Mach
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, and Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
Lea Berrang-Ford
Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Robbert Biesbroek
Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands
Marjolijn Haasnoot
Deltares, Delft, the Netherlands, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Alcade C. Segnon
Alliance of Bioversity International and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Dakar, Senegal, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Benin
Donovan Campbell
The University of West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Justice Issah Musah-Surugu
United Nations University, Bonn, Germany; Department of Public Administration and Health Service Management, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Elphin Tom Joe
Economics Center, World Resources Institute, New Delhi, India
Abraham Marshall Nunbogu
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Salma Sabour
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, UK
Andreas L.S. Meyer
African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Talbot M. Andrews
Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
Chandni Singh
School of Environment and Sustainability, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bangalore, India
A.R. Siders
Disaster Research Center, Climate Change Science and Policy Hub, Biden School of Public Policy, Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences; University of Delaware; Newark, DE, USA
Judy Lawrence
Climate Change Research Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Maarten van Aalst
Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Twente, the Netherlands; Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, The Hague, The Netherlands
Christopher H. Trisos
African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Summary: This article provides a stocktake of the adaptation literature between 2013 and 2019 to better understand how adaptation responses affect risk under the particularly challenging conditions of compound climate events. Across 39 countries, 45 response types to compound hazards display anticipatory (9%), reactive (33%), and maladaptive (41%) characteristics, as well as hard (18%) and soft (68%) limits to adaptation. Low income, food insecurity, and access to institutional resources and finance are the most prominent of 23 vulnerabilities observed to negatively affect responses. Risk for food security, health, livelihoods, and economic outputs are commonly associated risks driving responses. Narrow geographical and sectoral foci of the literature highlight important conceptual, sectoral, and geographic areas for future research to better understand the way responses shape risk. When responses are integrated within climate risk assessment and management, there is greater potential to advance the urgency of response and safeguards for the most vulnerable.
