Adapt now: a global call for leadership on climate resilience, Global Commission on Adaptation, September 2019

Compendium Volume 3 Number 2 January 2020

This report, led by Ban Ki Moon (UN), Bill Gates (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and Kristalina Georgieva (World Bank), calls on decision makers worldwide to facilitate coordinated action to help communities adapt to climate change. Importantly, the report makes the case for nature-based adaptation approaches, which inherently help mitigation efforts as well. Adaptation measures are much cheaper than recovery and rebuilding: every $1 invested in adaption yields $2-10 (or more by some estimates) in avoided losses and other economic benefits (such as improved crop yields), as well as social and environmental benefits.

Despite a clear global imperative for rapid adaptation planning and action to be taken at local, regional and national levels, action is desperately lagging. The report cites four reasons for inaction: (1) broad failure to internalize climate change risk in everyday decision making; (2) human tendency to prioritize short-term planning at the expense of long-term goals; (3) lack of cross-sector collaboration, which leads to fragmentation of responsibility; and (4) lack of power/voice among those most affected by climate change.

The report succinctly articulates the value of working with nature to adapt to climate change, while highlighting the extent to which this vital information is neglected.

We can already see the immense opportunity of using nature to increase societal resilience in landscapes ranging from uplands to the ocean. Restoring upland forests and watersheds could save water utilities in the world’s 534 largest cities an estimated $890 million each year and is critical for regulating water flows and managing the future’s more extreme floods. Meanwhile, lakes, marshes, and river floodplains both slow the release of floodwater and filter out sediment. The Netherlands has harnessed these capabilities with a Room for the River strategy that increases capacity of rivers and their floodplains to hold floodwaters, reducing damage and loss of life.

Ecosystem restoration also is a powerful tool for feeding the hungry, cooling sweltering cities, and protecting communities. One striking example is farmer-led reforestation in the Maradi and Zinder regions of Niger, which has boosted crop yields, improved soil fertility, and lifted communities out of poverty. Tree cover has soared ten-fold and the daily time spent gathering firewood—a task that mainly falls to women—has dropped from 3 hours to 30 minutes. For cities, an annual investment of $100 million in urban tree planting could create enough shade to cut average temperatures by 1°C for 77 million people around the world. Restoring the mangrove forests that offer protections from rising seas and storm surges is two to five times cheaper than building engineered structures like underwater breakwaters, while also storing carbon and improving water quality and local fisheries.

Yet despite the powerful case for working with nature to reduce climate risks, the world has barely begun to realize this potential. Few governments have adopted these approaches widely, even though many cite natural solutions in their NDCs. And only 3 percent of nearly 2,000 companies reported using natural ecosystems as part of their climate adaptation strategies. The barriers include lack of awareness of the critical role of natural assets in underpinning social and economic resilience and lack of accessible funds to invest in nature-based solutions. In addition, the piecemeal way adaptation is often planned and executed undervalues or ignores the many benefits of working with nature.

Humanity faces a stark choice: We can harness nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change and to better adapt—or we can continue with business as usual and lose the essential and myriad services nature provides [Global Commission on Climate Adaptation 2019: 31]. 

To encourage adoption of nature-based adaptation strategies, the report recommends three steps: (1) raise the level of understanding of the value of nature for climate adaptation; (2) embed nature-based solutions into adaptation planning and policy; and (3) increase investment into nature-based solutions. Indeed, it is precisely the aim of Biodiversity for a Livable Climate and its compendium series to elevate the level of understanding and appreciation for nature-based adaptation and mitigation solutions to the climate crisis.

Yet despite the powerful case for working with nature to reduce climate risks, the world has barely begun to realize this potential. Few governments have adopted these approaches widely, even though many cite natural solutions in their NDCs. And only 3 percent of nearly 2,000 companies reported using natural ecosystems as part of their climate adaptation strategies. The barriers include lack of awareness of the critical role of natural assets in underpinning social and economic resilience and lack of accessible funds to invest in nature-based solutions. In addition, the piecemeal way adaptation is often planned and executed undervalues or ignores the many benefits of working with nature.

Humanity faces a stark choice: We can harness nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change and to better adapt—or we can continue with business as usual and lose the essential and myriad services nature provides [Global Commission on Climate Adaptation 2019: 31]. 

For the full PDF version of the compendium issue where this article appears, visit Compendium Volume 3 Number 2 January 2020