What is adaptation?
Big idea: Adaptation = adjusting to the effects. We accept that some climate change is unavoidable and prepare for its impacts.
Why adaptation is necessary
- Even if emissions stopped today, some warming is already locked in due to past emissions
- CO₂ persists in atmosphere for centuries
- Oceans have absorbed heat that will continue to warm climate
- Impacts are already happening — we need to cope NOW
Mitigation is like preventing a fire; adaptation is like installing smoke detectors and sprinklers. Both are essential!
Types of adaptation
- Reactive: Responding to impacts that have already occurred
- Anticipatory: Preparing for expected future impacts
- Planned: Deliberate policy decisions by governments
- Autonomous: Spontaneous adjustments by individuals and systems
Exam tip: Questions may ask you to classify adaptation strategies or explain why adaptation is necessary alongside mitigation.
Specific adaptation strategies
Big idea: Adaptation strategies are tailored to specific risks and locations. They include infrastructure, agriculture, water management, and social measures.
Coastal and water management
- Sea walls and flood barriers: Protect against rising seas and storm surges (e.g., Thames Barrier)
- Managed retreat: Moving communities away from vulnerable coastlines
- Wetland restoration: Natural buffers that absorb flood water
- Water storage: Reservoirs, rainwater harvesting for drought periods
- Desalination: Converting seawater to freshwater
Agriculture and food security
- Drought-resistant crops: Breeding or engineering crops that tolerate water stress
- Changed planting dates: Adjusting to new seasonal patterns
- Irrigation efficiency: Drip irrigation, soil moisture sensors
- Crop diversification: Reducing dependence on single crops
- Agroforestry: Trees provide shade, reduce erosion, diversify income
Health and urban adaptation
- Early warning systems: Heat alerts, flood warnings, disease surveillance
- Urban heat island reduction: Green roofs, urban trees, reflective surfaces
- Improved healthcare: Preparing for climate-related illnesses
- Building codes: Design for extreme weather, passive cooling
Exam tip: Be ready to give named examples of adaptation strategies from specific countries or regions when possible.
Know your predicted grade
Take timed mock exams and get detailed feedback on every answer. See exactly where you're losing marks.
IB-style question — adapting a low-lying coast [2]
A low-lying coastal town is already experiencing more flooding as sea levels rise.
Outline two adaptation strategies the town could use to cope with rising sea levels. [2]
How to answer it, step by step
- Defend the land or move people
• Build sea walls or flood barriers to hold back the water
• Relocate homes and roads to higher ground - Check each is adaptation, not mitigation
• Adaptation = living with the effects that are already happening
• Neither point reduces CO₂, so both are adaptation
Final answer
Adaptation deals with the EFFECTS we can no longer avoid (flooding, heat, drought) — it does NOT reduce greenhouse gases, so don't write 'use solar panels' here.
IB-style question — why poorer countries adapt less [2]
Wealthy countries can fund large sea defences and drought-resistant crops, but many low-income countries cannot.
Explain why low-income countries often find it harder to adapt to climate change. [2]
How to answer it, step by step
- Money limits the response
• Adaptation (sea walls, irrigation, new crops) is expensive
• Low-income countries lack the funds and technology to build it - The impact is often bigger too
• Many rely on farming, which is hit hard by drought and floods
• So they face larger effects with fewer resources to cope
Final answer
Link the two halves — less money/technology to adapt AND greater exposure to impacts — don't just write 'they are poor'.