TY - JOUR
T1 - A systematic global stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change
AU - Berrang-Ford, Lea
AU - Siders, A R
AU - Lesnikowski, Alexandra
AU - Fischer, Alexandra Page
AU - Callaghan, Max W
AU - Haddaway, Neal
AU - Mach, Katharine J
AU - Araos, Malcolm
AU - Shah, Mohammad Aminur Rahman
AU - Wannewitz, Mia
AU - Shang, Yuanyuan
AU - Lilford, Oliver
AU - Bowen, Kathryn
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Assessing global progress on human adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority. Although the literature on adaptation to climate change is rapidly expanding, little is known about the actual extent of implementation. We systematically screened >48,000 articles using machine learning methods and a global network of 126 researchers. Our synthesis of the resulting 1,682 articles presents a systematic and comprehensive global stocktake of implemented human adaptation to climate change. Documented adaptations were largely fragmented, local and incremental, with limited evidence of transformational adaptation and negligible evidence of risk reduction outcomes. We identify eight priorities for global adaptation research: assess the effectiveness of adaptation responses, enhance the understanding of limits to adaptation, enable individuals and civil society to adapt, include missing places, scholars and scholarship, understand private sector responses, improve methods for synthesizing different forms of evidence, assess the adaptation at different temperature thresholds, and improve the inclusion of timescale and the dynamics of responses.
AB - Assessing global progress on human adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority. Although the literature on adaptation to climate change is rapidly expanding, little is known about the actual extent of implementation. We systematically screened >48,000 articles using machine learning methods and a global network of 126 researchers. Our synthesis of the resulting 1,682 articles presents a systematic and comprehensive global stocktake of implemented human adaptation to climate change. Documented adaptations were largely fragmented, local and incremental, with limited evidence of transformational adaptation and negligible evidence of risk reduction outcomes. We identify eight priorities for global adaptation research: assess the effectiveness of adaptation responses, enhance the understanding of limits to adaptation, enable individuals and civil society to adapt, include missing places, scholars and scholarship, understand private sector responses, improve methods for synthesizing different forms of evidence, assess the adaptation at different temperature thresholds, and improve the inclusion of timescale and the dynamics of responses.
U2 - 10.1038/s41558-021-01170-y
DO - 10.1038/s41558-021-01170-y
M3 - Article
SN - 1758-678X
VL - 11
SP - 989
EP - 1000
JO - Nature Climate Change
JF - Nature Climate Change
ER -