ADAPTATION

The evidence is unequivocal.  Our climate system is changing.  Increasing atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations are triggering a warming of the Earth's surface and the oceans, sea-level rise and acidification, changes in weather patterns, and an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, from floods and hurricanes to heat waves and droughts.  These changes affect the very foundations of our economic and physical well being and the integrity of the bioshere.  In addition to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change, we must immediately develop the knowledge and predictive capacity to adapt to climate change now and for the foreseeable future.  This has been called 'Adaptation," which refers to "the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities" ( IPCC, 2007)

The five Adaptation chapters will focus on this idea.