Week 8: Climate Change Adaptation

Question 1

What are the top five trends of the Global Risks Report?

Answer 1

1.) Changing Climate
2.) Rising cyber dependency
3.) Increasing polarization of societies
4.) Rising income and wealth disparity
5.) Increasing national sentiment

Question 2

What is Adaptation?

Answer 2

The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.

Question 3

What is Vulnerability?

Answer 3

The characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.

Question 4

What is risk?

Answer 4

The consequences of an activity and associated uncertainty

Question 5

What is Resilience?

Answer 5

The ability of a system to achieve the desired functionality

Question 6

What is Adaptive Solutions to climate change?

Answer 6

Adaptation is reducing climate risk by adjusting the existing systems

Question 7

What is the goal of Options evaluation and
adaptive planning

Answer 7

Determine how to adapt to climate change and reduce the risk in the future.

Question 8

What are the treatments for Climate change adaptation?

Answer 8

• Avoid: Eliminate the potential for hazard or exposure
• Reduce/Control: Lower the chances of the event occurring
• Mitigate: Reduce the consequences
• Transfer: Transfer the consequences to someone else
• Do nothing: Accept/tolerate the consequences and uncertainty

Question 9

What is Cascading failures?

Answer 9

• “Cascading impacts of small failures bring down our systems”

Question 10

What is Trade-offs?

Answer 10

• “Mitigating one risk, may exacerbate others”

Question 11

What is “Black swans”?

Answer 11

A surprising event given the current knowledge

Question 12

What is Adaptation vital to uncertainty?

Answer 12

• Nevertheless, decisions must be made now, with the information available.
• Waiting until uncertainties are reduced before making decisions, or doing nothing,
  is not viable or acceptable to those most exposed to the risk

Question 13

What are the components used to manage uncertainty?

Answer 13

• Thresholds
• Triggers
• Signals

Question 14

What are natural hazards?

Answer 14

Natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage

Question 15

What does shock mean?

Answer 15

acute (rapid onset, typically short duration) events. Hazards typically refer to shocks.

Question 16

What does Stresses mean?

Answer 16

chronic (slow onset, typically protracted duration) issues

Question 17

What are the examples of Stressors?

Answer 17

• Sea level rise
• Vertical land movement
• Temperature change
• Changing growing conditions
• Poverty

Question 18

What is Compounding Hazards?

Answer 18

When two or more hazards occur at the same time and increase the overall threat

Question 19

What is Cascading Hazards?

Answer 19

When one hazard’s occurrence leads to the occurrence of another

Question 20

What is exposure?

Answer 20

People, property, systems, or other elements present in hazard zones are thereby subject to potential losses.

Question 21

What is sensitivity?

Answer 21

The degree to which a system is affected adversely or beneficially by climate-related drivers

Question 22

What is Adaptive Capacity?

Answer 22

The ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to potential damage