essay on climate change resilience

Climate Solutions » Resilience Solutions

Climate resilience portal, at-a-glance.

• Even as we work to avert the worst potential impacts of climate change, we must become more resilient to those impacts that are now unavoidable. These impacts often disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color, reinforcing the need for equitable and proactive resilience planning and resource allocation.
• Businesses prepare for risks every day and can factor climate risks into existing risk management frameworks to become more climate resilient.
• Governments have an important role to play in updating infrastructure and helping communities cope with extreme weather, sea-level rise and other climate impacts.

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, climate change will continue to accelerate. Even if emissions were to stop today, the climate would continue to change for some time as the Earth’s system responds to the warming already underway. It makes sense to anticipate changes and act now to minimize future economic and social risks.

Climate resilience is often associated with acute events – like heat waves, heavy downpours, hurricanes, or wildfires – that will become more frequent or intense as the climate changes. However, good resilience planning also accounts for chronic events, like rising sea levels, worsening air quality, and population migration.

Cities and local communities are responding by investing in infrastructure updates and climate-smart planning to mitigate the impacts of acute and chronic events. For example, a combination of nature-based solutions and building improvements, like planting street trees and installing green roofs, can help mitigate extreme heat. Actions like these are especially important in historically marginalized communities, where climate impacts can exacerbate existing inequalities. Baltimore and Minneapolis are among cities that have implemented Resilience Hubs , housed in trusted community facilities that provide day-to-day services and operate as resource centers during and after hazard events like floods or extreme heat.

Governments and businesses alike are planning now for the environment and economy they will face in the future. Recent research found that each dollar of federal grant assistance spent on risk mitigation returned $6 in value. The federal government has responded by implementing new pre-disaster mitigation grants to help communities build resilience to climate impacts. And, recognizing that climate impacts pose uncertain risks to the U.S. financial system, the Securities and Exchange Commission is considering how best to support climate risk disclosure among publicly traded U.S. companies. For their part, businesses increasingly recognize how supporting local governments and building their own climate resilience helps create competitive economies they can thrive in.

While there is still much work to be done, there are many inspiring cases of resilience planning that can serve as models for future initiatives.

Examples of Resilience Planning

• The city of Phoenix has developed a heat action plan that prioritizes natural cooling solutions and community engagement to fight rising heat.
• Southern California Edison is implementing a multi-year infrastructure resilience plan to mitigate the risk of wildfires and reduce the need for public safety power shut-offs.
• Following the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the community of Edgemere in Queens, New York, launched an 18-month community engagement process for building flood resilience, resulting in the Resilient Edgemere Community Plan.

Overview of Resilience Solutions

Creating climate resilient communities calls for action from businesses, states, cities, and the federal government. Each is poised to approach resilience with varied strategies.

Business Resilience Solutions: Businesses take a variety of approaches in addressing risks, and often view climate change as a “threat multiplier” that makes existing risks worse. Business initiatives to build resilience include developing disaster recovery plans, adding onsite energy resources like combined heat and power systems or rooftop solar, and identifying backup supply and distribution chains. Small businesses may deploy different strategies like installing green roofs for water retention and communicating preparedness information to employees.

C2ES examines how companies are preparing for climate risks, the strategies they are using to build resilience, and what more they can do in Weathering the Storm: Building Business Resilience to Climate Change and Weathering the Next Storm: A Closer Look at Business Resilience . We also explore best practices for climate risk disclosure in a series of reports focused on the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures . More information is available on our Business Action on Resilience page.

Federal Resilience Solutions : The federal government provides support for state and local climate resilience in a number of ways, the most visible of which is significant grant and loan funding for state and local resilience-related projects. Federal agencies are also a primary provider of climate data, models, planning tools, and technical assistance that help planners and policymakers assess risks and opportunities for action. While federal agencies and programs have successfully sponsored many local resilience-building projects, these resources must be scaled up significantly to meet the needs of communities already preparing for and recovering from climate-related extreme weather events. Increasing these resources is particularly critical for low-income and marginalized communities, who are disproportionately impacted by climate-related extreme weather events and often face challenges in accessing support to prepare for and recover from these events.

State Resilience Solutions : State governments are crucial in convening local and private interests related to climate change and pooling the resources and expertise of the many departments or agencies that can be affected by or help address climate change. Nineteen states currently have climate adaptation or resilience plans, (with six more states currently developing them). States can be influential by adopting resilience practices in state-owned assets and operations and by adopting policies that mandate or incentivize climate resilience in insurance, transportation, and building codes. For example, Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council includes changing sea levels in its special area management plan for communities on the shoreline.

C2ES explores what states are doing on our State Action on Resilience page and explores how they can engage with businesses in Framework for Engaging Small- and Medium-sized Businesses in Maryland on Climate Resilience.

City Resilience Solutions : Cities and smaller communities face a variety of challenges including sea level rise, flooding, heat, and drought. In response, cities are developing standalone resilience plans, like the Greater  Miami area’s Resilient305 strategy, while others incorporate resilience strategies into master plans (e.g. Keene, New Hampshire ) and hazard mitigation plans (e.g .  San Diego County, California, and  Providence, Rhode Island).   New Orleans developed a resilience strategy to implement throughout city operations, resulting in new, resilient design standards for public works, an updated zoning ordinance, and embedding resilience outcomes within the city’s budgeting process.

C2ES breaks down what cities are doing on our City Action on Resilience page, and explores how they are engaging businesses in our Guide to Public-Private Collaboration on City Climate Resilience Planning . We also explore how investing in climate resilience helps cities create the competitive local economies that attract new residents and businesses in The Resilience Factor: A Competitive Edge for Climate-Ready Cities and Factoring in Resilience for City Competitiveness , a scrolling story.

Financing Resilience : The upfront cost of building resilience is a challenge, as is the need to set aside funds often needed for short-term projects. However, governments and businesses are obtaining capital to invest in resilience projects through innovative finance mechanisms like green bonds and climate funds. States that participate in emissions-trading systems also allocate proceeds to resilience projects. In addition, many federal and state insurance offices and private insurers offer lower rates for taking steps to reduce climate risks, providing additional savings later.

C2ES explores a National Green Bank as an emerging opportunity to leverage private capital for resilience investment. We look at innovative ways to finance infrastructure resilience on our Financing Resilience page.

C2ES thanks the Bank of America for its support, which allowed us to develop our Climate Resilience Portal. As a fully independent organization, C2ES is solely responsible for its positions, programs, and publications.

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Editor-in-Chief: William Shutkin

The Journal of Climate Resilience & Climate Justice (CRCJ) , is an online, open access resource providing research reports, case studies, essays, and opinions from the working edge of the climate resilience and climate justice fields written in a non-technical, digestible, and educational style for a broad audience.

This is an open access journal with no author publishing fees, made possible through the generous support of the Nell Newman Foundation and the Dean Witter Foundation.

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Journal of Climate Resilience and Justice is not accepting unsolicited manuscripts at this time.

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Climate resilience and adaptation to climate change

Page about why adapting to climate change matters, what the EU is doing, EU mission on a climate resilient Europe and related links

Why adapting to climate change matters

In our daily lives, resilience and adaptation help us overcome major challenges and turn problems into effective solutions. Similarly, adaptation to climate change is about  adjusting to a warmer world, in order to protect people, nature, our prosperity and way of life. 

The climate emergency and biodiversity crises in Europe and around the world is a call to all of us to join forces and act in new and innovative ways. Adaptation to climate change requires to understand, plan and act in a way that  not only reduces the negative impacts of climate change but also creates new opportunities to become safer and more resilient.  

Climate change is one of the biggest threats currently facing humanity. The Earth has already warmed by 1.1°C since the late 19 th century.  This is already affecting every region of the world, causing more frequent and intense extreme events such as heatwaves or droughts, changing rainfall patterns, melting ice and affecting habitats. Some consequences of climate, such as sea-level rise, will continue to unravel for centuries to millennia.

Every bit of warming matters and climate action has never been as urgently needed as today. Limiting global warming requires immediate and deep cuts in the emissions of greenhouse gases (a mitigation strategy).

However, mitigating climate change will not be enough. In addition, we will have to adapt to the unavoidable impacts.

Without action today, adaptation will be costlier and more difficult for the next generations.

Responding to these challenges will require better knowledge and scientific breakthroughs in various domains ranging from technologies, solutions and services for adaptation in areas such as:

• drought-resilient crops
• water saving technologies
• satellites for environmental observation
• rapid progress in adaptation science and climate analytics as a basis for state-of-the-art climate information
• scaling up of digital tools to take our adaptive capacities to the next level

This will need to go hand in hand with societal transformation and large-scale behavioral change promoting climate-friendly lifestyles.

What is the EU doing?

The European Climate Law underlines the importance of stepping up adaptation efforts, including through more decisive action on climate proofing, resilience building, disaster risk prevention and preparedness.

Additionally, the Commission published in February 2021 a new, more ambitious EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change that sets out its vision on how Europe can become ready to face climate disruptions by 2050. The strategy is based on 4 key principles: smarter, faster and more systemic adaptation, together with an enhanced international action on adaptation.

The strategy will step up Europe’s preparedness for current and future climate events in an attempt to avoid detrimental and potentially catastrophic impacts to our economy, environment and society.

Mission on adaptation to climate change

To deliver on the Adaptation Strategy, the EU has also launched in 2021 the EU mission on adaptation to climate change . The goal of the mission is to support at least 150 regions and local authorities to become climate resilient by 2030. It will achieve this by testing and up-scaling innovative solutions, creating the right conditions for transforming our societies, and providing demonstrations of deep climate-resilience.

Mission goals

• prepare Europe to deal with climate disruptions, and help all citizens, communities and regions to better understand, prepare for and manage climate risks such as heatwaves, forest fires, droughts, floods, storms and diseases
• accelerate the transition to the future we want, supporting European communities and regions in co-creating a vision and innovation pathways. Develop solutions and enabling conditions for transformative adaptation within safe planetary boundaries
• build deep resilience by scaling up actionable solutions that bring about transformations in society by demonstrating deep resilience across a number of European communities and regions

More details in the report:  A climate resilient Europe

Even stopping all greenhouse gas emissions would not stop the climate impacts that are already occurring, and which are likely to continue for decades.

Even in a best-case scenario of sustained emissions’ reduction, there will still be large stresses on multiple economic and natural systems.

Adaptation will be necessary in agriculture, biodiversity, coastal areas, disaster risk reduction, energy, finance, forestry, health, infrastructure, marine and fisheries, transport, urban, water management and many others.

Managing these in a holistic way will require better models for climate change impacts, sustained efforts for technological and socio-economic innovations and mobilisation of finance.

By helping us understand how the climate system works and how it will change over time, climate science is fundamental for making informed and wise decisions about reducing emissions and adapting to a changing climate.

Building on the release of the IPCC Working Group II report "Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability", this brochure puts a spotlight on and celebrates the contribution of EU-funded projects to pushing the boundaries of world-class adaptation science as a key ingredient towards climate resilient development and just transition for all.

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What Makes a Society More Resilient? Frequent Hardship.

Comparing 30,000 years of human history, researchers found that surviving famine, war or climate change helps groups recover more quickly from future shocks.

By Carl Zimmer

From the Roman Empire to the Maya civilization, history is filled with social collapses. Traditionally, historians have studied these downturns qualitatively, by diving into the twists and turns of individual societies.

But scientists like Philip Riris have taken a broader approach, looking for enduring patterns of human behavior on a vaster scale of time and space. In a study published Wednesday, these methods allowed Dr. Riris and his colleagues to answer a profound question: Why are some societies more resilient than others?

The study, published in the journal Nature, compared 16 societies scattered across the world, in places like the Yukon and the Australian outback. With powerful statistical models, the researchers analyzed 30,000 years of archaeological records, tracing the impact of wars, famines and climate change. They found that going through downturns enabled societies to get through future shocks faster. The more often a society went through them, the more resilient it eventually became.

“Over time, you will suffer less, essentially,” said Dr. Riris, an archaeologist at Bournemouth University in England. “There tends not to be wholesale collapse.”

The researchers tracked the history of societies by taking advantage of the way archaeologists tell time. Most organic material, whether it’s charcoal or mussel shells, contains trace amounts of radioactive carbon-14, which gradually breaks down over thousands of years. By measuring the carbon-14 left at an archaeological site, researchers can estimate its age.

This approach can also track population changes. As human groups get bigger, they burn more wood, eat more food and leave behind more garbage, all of which can be dated. When those groups shrink, their sites become rarer.

Dr. Riris and his colleagues gathered information on more than 40,000 carbon-14 measurements from 16 populations. They then looked at all of the societies for signs of sudden crashes and major rebounds.

Every population suffered downturns. Some lasted only a few generations, while others went on for far longer. Around 8,200 years ago, the Near East suffered a population crash and did not recover for more than 2,000 years.

The ways in which people had lived led to different rhythms of collapse and growth. Societies that had raised livestock or farmed the land grew more quickly, but they also became more prone to downturns. Dr. Riris speculated that growing crops or tending herds of animals had made people more vulnerable to changes in the climate.

John Haldon, a historian at Princeton who was not involved in the new study, was struck by how many of the downturns coincided with climate change. “What it tells us is that climate is our biggest weak spot,” he said.

Dr. Riris and his colleagues looked for factors that explained why societies in some cases suffered long, deep downturns, while others experienced smaller drops in their populations and bounced back more quickly.

One feature that stood out was the frequency of downturns. You might expect that going through a lot of them would wear societies down, making them more vulnerable to new catastrophes. But the opposite seems to have occurred; societies that experienced frequent downturns went on to become more resilient, experiencing less severe falls and faster recoveries.

The study suggests that societies in the Korean Peninsula, the central plains of China and the Caribbean, in particular, displayed an enhanced ability to recover.

The pattern of increased resilience in the face of repeated stressors is similar to what ecologists see when they look at the history of forests. Ecosystems that go through frequent disturbances become the most resilient. People are not trees, of course, and so Dr. Riris and his colleagues are not sure why societies also show this pattern.

Dr. Riris speculated that during downturns, societies learn how to survive, and then pass that knowledge down to future generations.

“That led to innovations — or technologies or practices or behaviors or know-how or traditions — being adopted that enabled them to do better the next time something bad rolled around,” he said.

Today, as the planet enters a climate emergency, a number of researchers are looking for lessons from history. Dr. Riris was reluctant to give any advice based on the new analysis. If civilization is on the verge of a 500-year collapse, it won’t be much comfort to know that it could have been 1,000 years.

“We need to be clear about the success we’re talking about,” he said.

Dr. Haldon agreed that it’s hard to use such deep history to make decisions about current policies, which tend to focus on the near term.

“They may be completely correct that this is the way societies behave over 100,000 years, but it’s not going to help us at present,” Dr. Haldon said. “If we could plan 50,000 years ahead, we’d be in a great place.”

Carl Zimmer covers news about science for The Times and writes the Origins column . More about Carl Zimmer

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What is climate change adaptation and why is it crucial?

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• Adaptation refers to a wide range of measures to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts, from planting crop varieties that are more resistant to drought to enhancing climate information and early warning systems to building stronger defences against floods.
• As the impacts of climate change accelerate — including more extreme weather and sea level rise — it is increasingly urgent that countries and communities adapt.
• Adaptation faces challenges including inadequate finance, knowledge gaps, and institutional constraints, particularly in developing countries.
• International agreements such as the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Global Stocktake are key to driving progress. So too are comprehensive National Adaptation Plans.
• Despite constraints, developing countries are among those leading the way on adaptation.

What is climate change adaptation?

Climate change adaptation refers to actions that help reduce vulnerability to the current or expected impacts of climate change like weather extremes and hazards, sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, or food and water insecurity.

Many adaptation measures need to happen at the local level, so rural communities and cities have a big role to play. Such measures include planting crop varieties that are more resistant to drought and practicing regenerative agriculture, improving water storage and use, managing land to reduce wildfire risks, and building stronger defences against extreme weather like floods and heat waves.   However, adaptation also needs to be driven at the national and international levels. In addition to developing the policies needed to guide adaptation, governments need to look at large-scale measures such as strengthening or relocating infrastructure from coastal areas affected by sea-level rise, building infrastructure able to withstand more extreme weather conditions, enhancing early warning systems and access to disaster information, developing insurance mechanisms specific to climate-related threats, and creating new protections for wildlife and natural ecosystems.

Why do we need to adapt? And why is it so urgent?

Scientific studies show that the Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the 1800s. This warming is causing widespread and rapid changes in our planet’s atmosphere, ocean and ecosystems. As a result, weather and climate extremes are becoming more frequent in every region of the world. 

According to climate models, without significant climate action, the world is headed for 2.5 to 2.9°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels this century, which is well above the safety limits established by scientists. 

With every fraction of a degree of warming, the impacts of climate change will become more frequent and more intense – and adaptation will become that much harder and more expensive for people and ecosystems. 

The urgency is especially great for developing countries, which are already feeling the impacts of climate change and are particularly vulnerable due to a combination of factors, including their geographical and climatic conditions, their high dependence on natural resources, and their limited capacity to adapt to a changing climate. Adaptation is also particularly important for women and young children, older populations, ethnic minorities, Indigenous Peoples, refugees and displaced persons, who are shown to be disproportionately affected by climate change.

Even in very positive scenarios in which we manage to significantly and swiftly cut greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will continue to impact our world for decades to come because of the energy already trapped in the system. This means cutting down emissions is only one part of our response to the climate crisis: adaptation is needed to limit the impacts and safeguard people and nature.

Climate change threatens the viability of agricultural livelihoods worldwide. Photo: Anesu Freddy/UNDP Zimbabwe

Nature-based solutions, such as planting mangroves, are key to adaptation. Photo: David Estrada/Grupo Creativo Naturaleza Secreta

What are the challenges related to climate change adaptation? 

Efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change face a number of significant challenges.

The first major bottleneck for adaptation action is the availability of and access to finance. In fact, the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are estimated to be 10 to 18 times larger than what is currently available from public sources. 

Finance is needed to drive investment in a range of adaptation solutions, so countries can learn what works and scale up what is most effective. But it is also needed to empower communities – those on the frontlines of climate change – in locally-led, locally-appropriate action. 

Another major challenge is information and knowledge gaps. Accurate climate data is not easily available in many developing countries – localized risk assessments often do not exist – and systems for monitoring, learning and evaluation of adaptation are still fragmented. Without these pieces of the puzzle, it is difficult for governments, communities and the private sector to plan effectively and make sound decisions on where to invest. 

Finally, institutional and governance constraints are a major issue. Challenges of coordination among sectors and levels of government, and lack of specialized knowledge and experience – for example in realizing climate-risk informed planning and investments – are hindering effective adaptation in many countries.  

Climate information is crucial for communities, authorities and policymakers to make sound decisions. Photo: UNDP Malawi

What is the Global Goal on Adaptation?

The Global Goal on Adaptation, often referred to as "GGA”, is a key component of the Paris Agreement. It commits all 196 Parties of the Paris Agreement to enhancing resilience, reducing vulnerability, and supporting adaptation actions.

Its inclusion in the Paris Agreement was significant because it underscores the equal importance of adapting to climate change alongside efforts to reduce emissions. It also recognizes the vulnerability of developing countries to climate impacts and encourages support for their adaptation efforts.

At COP28 in Dubai , as part of the Global Stocktake , world leaders took decisions on the GGA, now named the “UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience.” Countries agreed to global time-bound targets around specific themes and sectors – for example in areas such as water and sanitation, food and agriculture, and poverty eradication and livelihoods – as well as under what’s called the “ adaptation cycle ,” a global framework guiding countries on the steps necessary to plan for and implement adaptation.

These were important steps forward, however there is still a lot of work to be done to accelerate adaptation globally. The targets set need to be more detailed and a clear roadmap for increasing finance towards adaptation needs to be drawn. This includes realizing the goal of doubling adaptation finance by 2025. Developed countries must deliver pledged contributions to the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund to support the world’s most vulnerable countries. At the same time, all governments must find new innovative sources of finance, including mobilizing the private sector, which has historically favoured mitigation initiatives.

What are National Adaptation Plans and why do they matter?

National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are comprehensive medium and long-term strategies that outline how a nation will adapt to the changing climate and reduce its vulnerability to climate-related risks. Often, countries will focus their NAPs on key sectors that contribute to their economy, food security and natural resources. 

NAPs are a way for countries to prioritize their adaptation efforts, integrating climate considerations into their national policies and development plans, and mobilizing the required finance by supporting the development of effective financing strategies and directing investments.

NAPs are also crucial because they enable countries to systematically assess their vulnerability to climate change, identify adaptation needs and design effective strategies to build resilience. 

Notably, these plans link closely to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other national and sectoral policies and programmes.  

Land reclamation is underway in Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti, to protect communities from sea level rise. Photo: TCAP/UNDP

Automated weather stations provide data crucial for forecasting and early warning. Photo: Jamil Akhtar/UNDP Pakistan

What are some examples of climate adaptation around the world?

There are a great number of countries leading the way in climate change adaptation, many of them showing outsized ambition and innovation, despite limited resources.

In the Pacific, the small island state of Tuvalu has drawn on the best available science – and around 270,000 cubic meters of sand – to reclaim a 780m-long, 100m-wide strip of land to protect against sea level rise and storm waves beyond 2100. This is an important initiative for a low-lying atoll country comprised of only around 26 square kilometres of land. 

Other countries such as Malawi and Pakistan are modernizing the capture and use of climate data and early warning systems, equipping communities, farmers and policy makers with the information they need to protect lives and livelihoods. 

Cuba and Colombia are leading the way on nature-based approaches, restoring crucial ecosystems – mangroves, wetlands and more – to protect against floods and drought. In this process, Colombia is capitalising on the knowledge of its Indigenous Peoples , who have invaluable expertise in adapting to extreme environmental changes.

Bhutan , the world’s first carbon-negative country, and Chad are among the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to finalize National Adaptation Plans. The result of years of meticulous planning and rigorous consultation, the plans are crucial roadmaps for adaptation in the years ahead. In Bhutan’s case, the plan is deeply rooted in the country’s unique ethos of Gross National Happiness.

How does UNDP support countries on climate change adaptation?

For UNDP, adapting to climate change is inseparable from sustainable development and each one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals . Adaptation is therefore a key pillar of UNDP’s support to developing countries worldwide.

Today, UNDP is the largest service provider in the UN system on climate change adaptation with active projects targeting more than 164 million people across more than 90 countries, including 13 Small Island Developing States and 44 Least Developed Countries.

Since 2002, with finance via global funds such as the Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility and Adaptation Fund, and hand-in-hand with governments, UNDP has completed more than 173 adaptation projects across 79 countries. This work has contributed to building the resilience of millions of people worldwide. For example, more than 3 million people are now covered by enhanced climate information and early warning systems, more than 645,000 people are benefitting from climate-smart agricultural practices, and 473,000 people have improved access to water.

To learn more about UNDP’s adaptation work, click here .

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Resilience and Conservation in a Changing Climate: The Case of Belize

As a small state situated on the Caribbean Sea, . Sea temperatures are rising every year, resulting in coral bleaching and reduced fish catch, both of which significantly impact local livelihoods. Storms are becoming more intense and more frequent – the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season had a record 30 named storms – disrupting economic activities and severely impacting the lives of local communities.

Conserving the country’s ocean resources is critical – marine and coastal resources support many of Belize’s key economic industries, are essential for food security, and provide invaluable ecosystem services. At the same time, these marine resources also support climate change adaptation and mitigation. In fact, the barrier reef and mangrove ecosystems are essential for protecting Belize’s coastal communities from the increasingly strong storms that are likely to occur in the future.

Recognizing the urgency of this issue, the Government of Belize, supported by the World Bank, implemented the five-year Marine Conservation and Climate Adaptation Project (MCCAP), financed by the Adaptation Fund . The project had the overarching goal of strengthening climate resilience of the Belize barrier reef. It took a multifaceted approach: helping to build sustainable and alternative livelihoods for coastal communities to relieve human pressures on the reef and to help them adapt to a changing climate; increasing protections and restoration efforts to conserve coastal resources; and building public awareness about climate change and the importance of marine resources.

Additional footage used with permission by Fragments of Hope, the Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association, and Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation Development.

Local Belizeans, like secondary school teacher Kieron Xiu, are aware of the urgency of these threats. “MCCAP invited teachers…to a training about climate change specifically, and overfishing. What I learnt in the training is alarming: there’s a lot of coral bleaching going on in Belize. We have to change the way we’re taking out fishes, and how we’re interacting with the environment.”

Marine protected areas can offer nature-based solutions to support global and local efforts towards climate change adaptation and mitigation. Recognizing the key role of marine protected areas, the project supported over five years an expansion of marine protected area coverage from 13% to 22% , increased marine replenishment (no-take) zones from approximately 2% to 3.1%, and supported the drafting of updated Forest (Protection of Mangroves) Regulations that came into effect in 2018.

In addition to contributing to conservation efforts and providing a buffer against storms, marine protected areas are key drivers of the local economy. Sustainable management of fish populations ensures that fisherfolk will continue to have a catch, season after season, and provides opportunities for locals to diversify their livelihoods beyond fishing. The stunning reefs in Belize’s marine protected areas have supported the country’s tourism industry, particularly in high-value areas like diving. Considering that in 2019 travel and tourism contributed nearly 45% of Belize’s GDP, preservation of the barrier reef is essential to the sustainability and growth of this industry.

To support these efforts, MCCAP helped to mainstream climate change into the Belizean education curriculum. In addition, with MCCAP’s support, some schools started vocational training for secondary school students living in fishing-dependent communities. Kieron teaches agriculture, and regularly takes his students out to the experimental farm and livestock area on the school campus for practical classes.

“Belize has prioritized climate change. Why? Because we’ve seen the effects in other countries, and we need to prepare ourselves. Climate change will happen in Belize and it’s happening already. And we can see the effects already sprouting in our barrier reef, especially coral bleaching. The world is getting warmer, so the reef life is dying. And that’s alarming. Imagine there are no fish, no fish meat to eat, how will we survive? We have to diversify to agricultural production,” Kieron explains.

MCCAP took an integrated approach to developing and delivering climate adaptation options. In other fishing communities around Belize’s coastal areas, the project supported a variety of vocational trainings to help locals dependent on this vulnerable industry and coastal resources to supplement their income, which enables them to adhere to the new fishing and marine regulations. Some communities are focusing on organic farming, others are growing high-value forms of seaweed, while others have trained in cooking, hospitality, English, and skills for the tourism sector.

Abisai Canul is a fisherman in the northern town of Sarteneja. Through MCCAP, he was trained in English and tour guide skills, while other members of his family received culinary or hospitality training. “We now have a schedule when we can only set traps from March and November. Before, we didn’t do this and the amount of fish we caught was less every year. Now, we can do something else other than just fishing, helping the fish not to go extinct, and generating more income to help our families.”

The reef and its marine life are essential to Belize’s economy and way of life, so trainees like Abisai feel proud to be able to play a part in conservation, while making a living. As fishing communities are doing their part to reduce human pressures on the reef, others, like the volunteers with  Fragments of Hope , are helping replant the reefs with more resilient types of coral. This is a labor of love for many local divers who also work in tourism and see firsthand the impression that a healthy reef makes on visitors to Belize.

Yasir Teck is one of the students at Kieron’s agriculture school. He dives in his free time and is a member of the school’s environmental club, which reaches out to primary school students to teach them about the environment.  “Our main aim of the club is to create awareness of the marine ecosystem. My father is a fisherman, and I would like to be a marine biologist.” With climate change now an integral part of Belize’s curriculum, Yasir is just one among a new generation growing up who are passionate about protecting their country’s natural resources far into the future.

Related links:

Feature story:  Investing in Nature, Investing in the Future of Belize

MCCAP: Belize Fisheries Department

Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association

Fragments of Hope

Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation Development

MCCAP Results story

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• Published: 08 May 2024

Facing the storm: Developing corporate adaptation and resilience action plans amid climate uncertainty

• Katharina Hennes   ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0001-1779-4877 1 ,
• David Bendig 1 &
• Andreas Löschel   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3366-8053 2 , 3 , 4  

npj Climate Action volume  3 , Article number:  37 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Climate hazards disrupt global value chains and business operations, leading to €52 billion in losses for the European Union in 2022 alone. In response to this escalating crisis, there is a need for corporate climate adaptation and resilience strategies (henceforth: CCAR) to effectively integrate climate risk challenges into strategic planning. Despite this urgency, there is a shortfall of research synthesising the drivers, strategies, and outcomes of corporate adaptation and resilience. Our study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic literature review to elucidate the academic status quo. From an initial dataset of over 3000 publications, we narrowed the sample to 66 papers, which specifically focus on these topics in the private sector. Grounded in this comprehensive review and regulatory observations, we delineate a CCAR typology to define the key elements required for a corporate approach to physical climate risks. This typology is translated into an actionable business adaptation framework, offering a clear path to begin the adaptation journey. Our in-depth content analysis contributes to the existing literature by identifying two main themes and several gaps: Current research covers the drivers, detailing why companies embark on such initiatives. Another stream focuses on how companies adapt, examining strategies to overcome these climate risks. However, work on the effectiveness and outcomes thereof is scarce. Consequently, our study delineates six trajectories for future research, the outcomes of which can serve as catalysts for advancing future CCAR efforts.

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Introduction.

The climate crisis and its physical risks have become a pressing issue for humanity—every tenth of a degree beyond the 1.5 °C target has the potential to dramatically alter the world as we know and understand it today through cascading physical climate risks 1 . Increasing in frequency and intensity 1 , these range from acute risks (e.g., floods, heat waves, wildfires) to chronic impacts (e.g., changing precipitation patterns, rising average temperatures) 2 . One of the very (financially) costly consequences is that human-made systems, such as global value chains, are substantially disrupted 3 . Beyond these physical impacts, the private sector faces liability 4 and transition risks 5 , 6 , for instance being sued for lack of climate initiatives or misleading reporting thereupon 4 , 7 . Thus, climate risks become relevant not only to the natural environment but also to our human systems, i.e., our economies, that are dependent on it 1 .

In today’s business reality, there are numerous examples of physical consequences building up to a systemic risk that threatens financial stability 6 , 8 , 9 . For instance, in 2021, Hurricane Ida caused losses of $65 billion in North America 10 . Only one year later, US companies were exposed to extreme droughts that built up to supply chain costs of $20 billion 11 —simultaneously, floods caused economic losses and reconstruction costs of over $31 billion to Pakistan’s economy 12 . These disruptions demonstrate the challenges that the private sector faces globally. Various weather extremes can strike in a relatively short timeframe, causing infrastructural damages, supply chain disconnections, wreaked production sites 3 , 13 , or surges in global raw material prices 14 —to name but a few. Following these incidents, it is common for businesses to shut down operations, at least temporarily, to accommodate repairs and rebuilds, if financially viable 15 , 16 .

Decarbonisation aims to tackle the root cause of climate change, but insufficient progress 17 leads to intensifying rather than declining feedback loops, requiring corporates to prepare for these challenges 18 . This is where corporate climate adaptation and resilience (henceforth: CCAR) comes in—it acknowledges the reality of a changing climate and focuses on adjusting to a world where some consequences are now inevitable and where requirements for corporate disclosure of physical risks are growing 4 . Despite this scientific clarity and emerging regulations, most corporates currently do not understand how to prepare for the acute extremes that we are already seeing today, nor how to adapt to the long-term chronic impacts 19 . This calls for a translation of scientific evidence and risk disclosure standards into the operationalisation of corporate adaptation 20 . To date, no such conversion has been conducted and there is limited research on the corporate level. This is noteworthy given the vital role businesses play in adaptive efforts 21 to maintain societal functioning amid surging climate crises. Consequently, it is crucial to identify what motivates globally operating businesses to engage in adaptation, how they do it, and the results of these efforts.

Although corporate climate adaptation and resilience have recently been addressed by some prominent publications 14 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 and regulations 26 , 27 , we still see three gaps. Firstly, even though existing research has broadly investigated overall climate risk impact, small businesses’ issues with infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, or the public sector’s role, a synthesis of CCAR knowledge that corporates can leverage has been largely overlooked. Secondly, the absence of a concise, universally applicable typology that defines the key elements of CCAR at the firm-level leaves too much room for interpretation or missteps and thus presents another gap. Lastly, from a practical lens, there is a lack of operationalisation of academic knowledge coupled with reporting insights into an actionable first-step adaptation guide. This could assist the private sector in informing its strategies, operations, and disclosure approaches. From a theoretical perspective, this would also serve as a basis for identifying areas requiring further research. In an effort to close these gaps and thereby answer manifold research calls 14 , 25 , we conduct a systematic literature review aiming to bring clarity to the following questions:

(i) What is and what is not known about CCAR from an academic perspective?

(ii) What defines CCAR for practice?

(iii) What adaptive steps can businesses take to enhance their climate resilience?

As our study’s foundation, the systematic literature review presents the latest adaptation and resilience insights, specifically focused on the private sector (i). Thoroughly evaluating existing academic knowledge at the firm-level, we contribute to the current literature by identifying what is known about corporate adaptation drivers, strategies, and outcomes. By incorporating observations on recent regulatory developments in climate risk disclosure, we enrich these academic findings and establish the foundation for our subsequent analyses to answer research questions (ii) and (iii). This synthesis enables us to delineate a CCAR typology at the firm-level, which defines the key elements required for a corporate approach to physical climate risk challenges. To the best of our knowledge, we are among the first to turn these theoretical contributions into practical firm-level guidance. More specifically, we translate the CCAR elements of the typology into an actionable business adaptation framework, thereby offering corporates a clear path to begin their adaptation journey. This is designed to bridge the gap between the current state of business and the identification, adaptation and eventual disclosure of climate risks. Lastly, we highlight central research blindspots. Going forward, topics like the measurement of CCAR outcomes or conducive regulatory incentives warrant further investigation (Box 1 elaborates on research pathways).

Building an academic foundation for CCAR

To compile the dataset of relevant articles, we followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) procedure 28 and began by (1) searching four central databases at the hand of 12 keywords (please refer to Fig. 1 or the Supplementary Methods 1 for further information on the selection of keywords.): EBSCO, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct. Between 2010 and 2022, a total of 3030 papers were published. As a second step, we (2) filtered via exclusion criteria (English language, peer-reviewed, Scimago Top 2000 rank), which left us with 983 articles. Lower-ranked journals were included to account for the fact that CCAR is a new topic of academic interest. Subsequently, we (3) systematically analysed all 983 articles’ abstracts to distill those that do indeed address sustainability in the private sector. Due to a multitude of unsuitable works (e.g., unrelated, small business, public sector or CSR focused, sustainability only as a side topic), we eliminated 860 papers.

The flow diagram, generated according to PRISMA, describes the process of the systematic literature review, including all steps from the identification of the initial sample to the analysis of the final sample. Each step details the number of articles that were included or excluded and the reasons for their inclusion or exclusion. The abbreviations have the following meaning: corp. corporate; bus. business.

This narrowed the dataset down to 123 articles for a detailed review of corporate adaptation. Lastly (4), we dropped 83 further papers that did not focus on firm-level analyses. This distilled a sample of 40 papers, which are all corporate-focused and specifically encompass adaptation drivers, levers, and outcomes. In light of recent regulatory changes regarding climate risks, we conducted a further search for important accounting and regulatory research articles that were not identified in our initial search. Specifically, we focused on articles relevant to the period between 01/2023 and 01/2024 using forward snowballing and cross-referencing techniques to review the dataset. Once we added these articles, our final sample increased to 66 papers (please refer to Supplementary Table 1 , which contains the full list). An in-depth analysis of all articles was performed by applying a review framework we developed to cover the breadth of potential CCAR topics (please refer to Supplementary Discussion 1 for limitations and Supplementary Methods 2 and 3 for details on the review framework). The review framework’s functionality was also tested with other business sustainability academics. Systematically extracting data from the final sample, we found manifold insights.

Research foci

For instance, the sample demonstrates geographical and topical patterns. As such, the CCAR literature originates from the Global North, offering a perspective mainly from the private sectors of highly developed nations. This trend is no surprise, considering that these regions wield sizeable global corporate influence and resources to devote to adaptation and resilience research 29 , 30 . This raises questions about the equitability of these efforts. It prompts consideration of the disparity between corporations with the financial means to pre-emptively adapt and well-functioning institutions surrounding them that provide regulatory support or guidance, versus those in developing countries that already face some of the most acute climate risks 1 . This also suggests that a key adaptation aspect of corporates’ global operations might be ignored, i.e., their suppliers and manufacturers at the start of the value chain.

Beyond geographical implications, our analysis displays a limited sectoral focus, as only half (45%) of the articles are industry-specific (percentages represent the relative emphasis of an adaptation aspect). Among these, over three quarters (36% overall) originate from two broader sectoral spectrums: (1) manufacturing and producing industries (18%), (2) management and finance (18%). All others contribute about two to three percent each. This is substantiated when examining business functions, as roughly a fourth of the papers display a concentration on organisations’ accounting & finance (27%). It is mirrored by production/operations (21%) and followed by other streams dedicated to management, administration, marketing and sales (15%) and sustainability (6%). Notably, about a third of the papers do not entail information regarding business functions (30%). Given these foci, we delineate a research tendency towards manufacturing, resource-intensive businesses and the management thereof, which points to the need for strategic planning in response to the high operational impact of these physical risks.

Review insights

Investigating adaptation to physical climate risks in the selected papers, two clear streams were detected: (1) Current CCAR literature provides considerable knowledge on antecedents, with the majority of the papers analysing the driving forces that lead corporates to engage in adaptation. (2) Another substantial body of work examines adaptation strategies, meaning what levers do corporates employ to overcome physical climate risks.

(1) A key conclusion from our analysis is that particularly a company’s value chain positioning, as well as its resulting climate risk exposure and managerial awareness thereof, are key predictors of its engagement in adaptation. Specifically, over two-thirds (71%) of the underlying literature elaborates on adaptation-inducing factors. As a corporate’s exposure to climate risks 31 , 32 has a measurable negative impact on revenue potential or performance indicators like sales 33 , 34 , 35 or stock market performance 36 , 37 , 38 , it plays a critical role in whether and how businesses adapt. The papers emphasise that action upon these risks can only be taken if there is managerial awareness thereof. Thus, internalities like key personnel’s (climate) risk perception 22 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 and general integration of risk management into corporate processes 24 , 31 , 44 are adaptation facilitators. Beyond these firm-internal factors, externalities are also acknowledged as crucial determinants, such as institutional pressures 45 , 46 , 47 like specific climate regulation 48 , 49 , disclosure requirements 50 , 51 or a company’s embeddedness and interdependencies within its business network 52 , 53 .

(2) In response to these drivers, corporates implement specific strategic or operational adaptation and resilience levers. Approximately half of the underlying papers (53%) showcase strategic initiatives like climate risk measurement and monitoring 24 , 31 , 44 , 54 , 55 , 56 or building cross-company adaptation networks 52 , 57 , 58 . They also highlight strategic compensation for business interruption or cash flow shortfalls due to physical hazards. Examples thereof are financial mechanisms such as weather 34 , 53 , 59 , 60 or climate change news 61 hedging. Adjusted leverage structures 62 , 63 , 64 , cash holdings 65 or loss provisions 66 also aim to mitigate these physical impacts. From a decision-making perspective, statistical approaches to incorporate adaptation considerations into pricing 67 , 68 and investment 69 are on the rise. Further operational dimensions (35%) can be adjustments to supply chains or production processes 57 , 70 in terms of, e.g., flexibilisation of inputs or logistics chains 15 , 71 , 72 , fortification of infrastructure 14 or even relocation thereof 59 , 73 . All of the above changes for long-term adaptation should, in theory, be mirrored by resilience levers that corporates employ to address sudden climate events. However, our analysis reveals that only a minor proportion of the literature (11%) touches upon acute disaster recovery measures like emergency response and disaster relief plans 16 , 24 , 48 . This limited acute resilience focus raises concerns, particularly given the ongoing occurrence of extreme weather events 1 . Failing to develop effective countermeasures exposes corporates to multiple risks like disrupted input logistics, damaged production sites and consequently financial losses 14 , 59 , 73 . Ultimately leading to bigger systemic impacts, this threatens the financial stability across a variety of sectors and economies 51 .

Regulatory and reporting influences

In recognition of these emerging global risks, regulators and standard-setters are increasingly demanding transparency in how companies assess and respond to them 74 . A variety of reporting standards have now emerged to facilitate this: voluntary ones companies choose to implement such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP); nationally adapted ones as in the state of California 75 based on, e.g., the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) or the Standards 1 and 2 of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) 76 ; or legally mandated cross-country ones such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) 1 and 2. Amidst the need for comparability between various disclosures and expanding regulatory demands 77 , climate risk reporting standards are beginning to converge, as evidenced by the recent shift of TCFD monitoring responsibilities to the ISSB 78 . In this evolving regulatory landscape, disclosure is becoming increasingly pertinent to corporates. More specifically, various states have already initiated legislative processes (e.g., California 75 , EU 27 , New Zealand 79 , UK 26 ), or have announced to do so recently (e.g., US SEC 80 , 81 ). As these come into force, companies will be legally obliged to focus on the impact of physical risks on their financials or beyond, depending on, e.g., size or operational boundaries. In this respect, the EU’s ESRS, starting in 2024, stands out as one of the most advanced 76 in terms of an internationally agreed, legally binding reporting standard that investigates not only financial but also the impact materiality of physical climate risks 82 .

Creating transparency on the concept of climate adaptation for private sector organisations

Blending the systematic literature review with the regulatory insights presented above, we understand that distinct factors drive corporate adaptation, and, in response, organisations employ specific measures. Despite rising academic attention to CCAR due to noticeable climate extremes and increased concern from countries and regulators, there remains confusion in the public discourse about the nature of adaptation and resilience for businesses. This is not surprising, as, to date, the reporting suggestions can be imprecise 83 and there is no succinct definition of CCAR on the firm-level 14 , leaving considerable ambiguity. Consequently, we usually do not see corporates with a clearly defined action plan for both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) climate impacts yet 84 —generally speaking, there is limited clarity on where the private sector stands 85 . This uncertainty calls into question its comprehension of climate risk disclosure standards like TCFD or ESRS and the sincerity of its ambition and ability to tackle these impacts today and in the future 50 . Acknowledging the complexity of the adaptation action and regulation landscape underscores the need for a common CCAR understanding to accelerate its momentum.

To build this foundational understanding, it is essential to define a universally applicable typology as a frame of reference that outlines the fundamental elements of firms’ adaptation and resilience efforts. It is critical that these are clarified so that they are comprehensible to every firm before they begin to engage in or report on CCAR. Derived from our review and the key notions of climate risk regulation, we conceptualise a triad of overarching elements (Fig. 2 ). Convinced that these are integral to a comprehensive CCAR strategy, we propose the following: (1) Well-researched scientific knowledge and risk assessments present the basis of any climate-related strategy, i.e., ‘ Climate proficiency’ is key. On this base, (2) acute, short-term climate impacts must be urgently confronted, i.e., ‘Resilience to acute risks’ , while (3) chronic, long-term changes need to be prepared for, i.e., ‘ Adaptation to chronic risks’ . This triad stems from seeing a focus on time- and physical-risk-oriented movements in our systematic literature review—one toward short-term natural disasters and the other toward long-term adaptation planning.

Figure 2 outlines the three key elements that need to be incorporated into a strategy to address physical climate risks. For clarity in the following business adaptation framework (see Fig. 3 ), each component is distinctly colour-coded. In this context, the adjectives ‘short-term’ and ‘acute’ are used interchangeably. The same applies to ‘long-term’ and ‘chronic’.

Climate proficiency

‘ Climate proficiency’ presents the initial element of this holistic CCAR typology. It is grounded in our learning that managerial perception of climate change and a company’s exposure to its risks are significant determinants of adaptation 22 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 . Given the clear importance of awareness as a base, companies need to enable and upskill their staff 50 . Thus, this first element encompasses integrating climate science as key knowledge for a firm to be able to conduct thorough climate risk assessments. As such, scientific (climate) literacy implies an up-to-date understanding of current climate and regulatory developments. Spreading these insights develops managerial awareness and perception of this cause’s urgency. Any company aiming for high literacy should thus regularly monitor the latest science 50 , e.g., provided by the IPCC, to update its risk exposures according to changes in predictions 13 , 86 , 87 . Ultimately, this supports the process of identifying and quantifying acute and chronic impacts on a company’s operations along its value chain 3 , 31 , 56 , 88 .

Resilience to acute risks

Engaging in fast risk management today is especially relevant for short-term, unpredictable events like sudden hurricanes or wildfires 1 , 89 . Consequently, the second element of the CCAR typology is ’ Resilience to acute risks’ . It draws on the literature highlighting how climate risks affect business operations 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , and how embeddedness in networks and value chains 52 , 53 can assist in responding to these immediate shocks. As such, this second element encapsulates both the operational and value chain strength required to deal with sudden physical impacts. Operational resilience refers to the imperative to have a ready-to-implement plan to assure production continuity and maintain essential functions in the face of all types of extreme weather events 15 , 24 , 90 . As an enabler thereof, simultaneous value chain resilience is of the essence. This is equally critical, as reflected in the literature discussing modifications of the supply chain 15 , 71 , 72 . It suggests resilience measures such as supplier choice or transportation flexibility to withstand or recover from such short-term disruptions 52 .

Adaptation to chronic risks

Simultaneously, responses to chronic risks like rising temperatures or changes in precipitation need to be developed 1 . Thus, underpinned by the CCAR literature’s focus on long-term strategic 59 , 73 , financial 34 , 53 , 59 , 60 or company-internal adjustments 56 , 58 , 70 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , the last element of this holistic CCAR typology is ‘ Adaptation to chronic risks’ . Based on identified future vulnerabilities, strategically adaptive measures can be delineated and planned accordingly. In line with the foreseeability of such chronic impacts, this element also links to the anticipated regulatory landscape for climate risks 95 . Currently under development and already mandatory in some countries, companies will soon be required to acknowledge the potential (non-)financial impacts on their business and disclose their corresponding risk mitigation strategies 74 . They therefore need to adjust internal reporting mechanisms 95 to take account of these new measurements 55 and to disclose them externally 47 .

Operationalising a practical business adaptation and resilience framework

Following this definition of the CCAR typology, we now turn to the question: How does a company operationalise these elements to navigate toward a climate-adapted and -resilient way of doing business? Grounded in our analyses, we answer this question by delineating a practical business adaptation framework. As such, it aims to bridge the gap between the private sector’s current and aspirational, climate-adapted state, which should be disclosed to regulatory bodies (Fig. 3 ). It is a practical tool that firms can leverage to get an overview on which first steps to take toward a thorough CCAR strategy. As a step-by-step process, the business adaptation framework operates through a question series and starts by building a baseline to review the status quo. Key actions for adaptation and resilience are identified. Ultimately, these form part of a publicly disclosed CCAR strategy that is integrated into a firm’s business strategy.

This figure presents a practical application of the CCAR typology elements (see Fig. 2 ), transforming them into actionable steps within the business adaptation framework. On the left side, pivotal questions corresponding to the three typology elements prompt strategic considerations for each operational step of the framework, which is illustrated on the right. The colour-coding establishes a visual link between each step of the framework and its respective element within the CCAR typology.

Step 1: Setting a CCAR foundation by identifying climate risks and their impact

Initially, the business adaptation framework directly links to the CCAR typology’s first element—‘ Climate proficiency’ . Its subdimensions ( scientific literacy and risk assessment ) present the starting point for identifying and categorising climate risks. These can be either physical (acute and chronic) or liability and transition-related consequences of physical risks 24 , 94 . Depending on the jurisdiction in which a company operates, it could use the global TCFD guidelines as a working basis for this first step—many countries and regional governments also provide useful local climate risk assessments. Having assessed which climate risks the business is exposed to along the value chain from procurement to sales 31 , 56 , 88 , these should be further analysed to rank them according to their likelihood of occurrence under different global warming scenarios. For instance, the Network for Greening the Financial System’s ‘Scenarios Portal’ could be leveraged for a global overview 96 . This prioritisation exercise should be carried out for varying timeframes 56 —i.e., what are the key climate risks today, in 10, 15 and 20 years’ time? Communicating these evaluations internally enables corporates to build the foundational knowledge, i.e., the scientific literacy and risk assessment , necessary to fully operationalise element 1.

Step 2: Building acute climate resilience operationally and along the supply chain

Having identified the base (where, how, and when climate risks are likely to occur), the business adaptation framework’s next step draws the connection to the second element ‘ Resilience to acute risks’ . Corporates increasingly realise that not all climate risks can be foreseen and mitigated pre-emptively, as some impacts happen suddenly and without warning. Referring to both subdimensions of element 2, companies must develop short-term resilience levers to have the capability to react immediately upon acute physical impact 15 , 97 . These levers aim at both their own operations as well as aspects up and down their supply chain. For instance, rapid response mechanisms could include establishing a climate disaster task force, implementing emergency operations plans, or even storing slack inventory 15 , 16 , 97 . Beyond that, companies could also investigate parametric vs. indemnity arrangements with their insurers to cover potential losses due to acute impacts 98 .

Step 3: Developing strategic adaptation initiatives for chronic impacts

As climate science clearly shows that long-term chronic impacts are coming, there is immense value for companies to be proactive in addressing these. While element 2 is about creating reactive, short-term measures to face acute risks, element 3 dives into proactive, long-term levers to address chronic impacts. Thus, the business adaptation framework’s third step focuses on developing adaptation actions that enable businesses to mitigate these. Firms need to think strategically and initiate such adaptation 14 , 40 early to implement countermeasures for foreseeable climate change impacts 91 . Operational tactics may include modified production processes, locations or fortification of infrastructure. From a more strategic perspective, corporates could explore new markets and products, or financially hedge chronic risks such as changed precipitation or temperature patterns with, e.g., weather derivatives 34 , 53 .

Step 4: Integrating CCAR with business strategy and disclosure requirements

The final step operationalises the last part of the CCAR typology’s third element by preparing the adaptation and resilience efforts for integration into the business strategy and disclosure to external stakeholders. In this step, corporates first translate the CCAR strategy into concrete initiatives and targets, covering both long-term adaptations and short-term reactivity. To implement these in the business strategy 92 , 99 , 100 , companies could set up cross-functional teams that hold responsibility for aligning stakeholders in the implementation of these levers and ensuring that they are considered in budgeting decisions. They also need to introduce climate risk assessments into routine business operations, aligning CCAR goals with business objectives. Ultimately, to evaluate the levers’ success, established evaluation processes should track both initiative progress and effectiveness using pre-defined key performance indicators. Leveraging the latter, companies can complement their existing disclosures by reporting on material climate risks and their plans to address them.

While this paper develops a CCAR typology and an operationalisation thereof as a practical business adaptation framework, our work also uncovers a noticeable shortfall of research probing the outcomes and performance of these initiatives, i.e., measuring CCAR success in terms of financial, market or societal benefits. Just a tenth of the reviewed literature delves into financial outcomes of adaptive actions (11%) 31 , 59 , 60 , 99 —even fewer studies investigate consequences such as keeping up the status quo (6%) 59 , 101 , reputation or even innovation opportunities (5% each) 88 , 102 , 103 , 104 . This limited outcome-oriented exploration underlines the scarcity of attention paid to actual CCAR measurement. Without robust measurement of a lever’s success, its long-term viability and efficacy remain unproven. Hence, it is unclear whether the strategic or operational levers hold when faced with increasing climate risks. As the stakes of maladapting are high, these knowledge gaps constitute essential areas for future investigation.

Intriguingly, the emphasis of CCAR research seems to be solely on nature-based risks, as a significant proportion of the papers analysed (79%) concentrate on physical impacts. In contrast, only a minority also dive into regulatory and liability (29%) or financial and transition risks (33%). Academics’ high focus on physical aspects is interesting considering that some businesses may perceive regulatory ones as the most critical 92 , 100 . It showcases a discrepancy between researchers and the private sector’s perception of the risks posed by the climate crisis. This misalignment could also be due to the so-called ‘tragedy of the horizon’, as companies and managers may have a shorter-term focus on what is most relevant 5 than academics. In line with their focus on physical risks, a number of tools have been developed to assess companies’ exposure to physical impacts 105 . Given the wide variation in the results of the assessments 105 , it is crucial to point out that the transition towards adaptation and resilience is a continuously evolving process for both academics and practitioners 14 , 106 —it is by no means static or a one-time event. As a testament to the topic’s dynamic nature 52 , 56 , evolving CCAR research could balance its focus with the private sector’s practical concerns. For example, to better understand CCAR and its effectiveness, future work could develop standardised measures of industry risk exposure and examine the outcomes of efforts to adapt to these risks. The exploration of regulatory incentives as a complement to existing disclosure standards may also prove conducive to this transition. We elaborate on these pathways in Box 1 to encourage future scholarly inquiries.

Box 1 Crucial research pathways for CCAR academics

1. Improve measurement of climate risk exposure across industries

Based on our review, we conclude that if existing research sets a focus, it is on manufacturing sectors 49 , 88 , 93 , 102 rather than physical climate risks. The extent of these risks’ impacts varies strongly depending on the assessment tool in question 105 . This is why their key takeaways should be taken cautiously when generalising to differing industries or when comparing one score 105 or rating 8 to another, as they use varying methodologies, input data and climate scenarios 74 . Thus, a globally agreed-upon and consistent methodology to measure these physical risks is needed. If this is not developed, policymakers and industry bodies may establish CCAR incentives of which the effectiveness would be limited or potentially even detrimental due to misleading industry- or risk-specific insights.

2. Build theorising on outcomes of CCAR initiatives

Currently, we do not know much about or measure whether corporates’ pilot adaptation and resilience levers prove to be successful when climate risks strike 13 , 86 . Only very few papers theorise and investigate how, e.g., financial hedging may lead to more stable financial outcomes for corporates 34 , 53 , 59 , 60 . However, this financial perspective is only one of many outcomes of adaptation and resilience initiatives. Others could be, e.g., potential for technological innovation 14 , cross-company partnerships 71 or cooperations with the public sector 14 . To assess these opportunities, theory is needed that dives into levers and their potential outcomes. Only then can we test this ‘black box’ and assess whether current assumptions about the effectiveness of initiatives are correct or need improvement.

3. Develop quantitative measurements to assess corporates’ extent of CCAR engagement

Building on the above, approaches to measuring CCAR implementation are currently limited with only a few approximations 87 , 107 , 108 . Ultimately, this makes it difficult to assess the progress and outcomes of firms’ adaptation. The definition of standardised performance indicators to capture the extent of corporate CCAR engagement is therefore crucial. Only when a measurement base is established will it be possible to highlight best practices and inform policymakers. Such a standardised perspective could be put forward by a consortium of regulatory bodies, overlooking a variety of climate risk disclosure approaches. This would also be useful for comparing future disclosures by firms which, given the current state of regulation, do not seem to have a clear method for doing so 84 . In light of these considerations, the role of company-internal accounting and reporting departments will become increasingly important in developing and/or reporting these standardised CCAR indicators 55 .

4. Assess opportunities of public-private partnerships

As the private sector faces complex changes, it might seek external support to tackle these. Cooperations like public-private partnerships have the potential to advance topics that surpass the capacity of any single actor 109 , 110 . As one of these topics, CCAR promises to be an interesting partnership area. Combining the strengths of public and private actors could create a robust platform for innovation and solutions, as exemplified by the Green Climate Fund 111 . An in-depth examination could look at how resources should be pooled to drive adaptation and what public incentives could kickstart CCAR initiatives. Diving into this will yield crucial insights for both policy and practice.

5. Encompass the Global South to develop a CCAR understanding across diverging regions

Predominantly stemming from the Global North, CCAR research does not provide a global picture. It is widely known that climate change disproportionally affects the Global South 1 ; their private sectors face different challenges than peers in the Global North. Among such hurdles, limited institutional or regulatory support can hinder this transition 112 , 113 . Current CCAR work in economics and management neglects to address these regions, limiting the development of geography-specific adaptation pathways. Cross-regional studies could solve this and provide an inclusive overview.

6. Expand the knowledge of climate risks’ true cost

An initial understanding of the overall economic costs of climate-related events has been developed 114 , 115 . Still, it is limited by a lack of precision on the sectoral level. Overlooking the specific cost and benefit implications for particular industries is dangerous, as the true cost of non-adaptation cannot be established 13 , 14 . Only this knowledge can adequately inform strategic decisions and help prioritise investments—both from a public and private sector lens. Addressing this, interdisciplinary research should involve economics and management, environmental, and risk science. Pilot case studies could explore these costs in-depth, ultimately enabling the development of effective CCAR strategies across sectors.

Our review of the most prominent business adaptation papers enabled us to develop a thorough understanding of the existing body of knowledge on corporate climate adaptation and resilience. We complemented this synthesis of the academic status quo with valuable regulatory insights to propose CCAR tools for corporates. Specifically, we contribute a firm-level typology of private sector adaptation and resilience to the academic discourse. It defines the crucial elements necessary for a corporate approach to physical climate risks. Exemplifying the urgency of addressing acute threats, planning for long-term chronic impacts, and the need for disclosure and integration across the organisation, this is particularly relevant for businesses looking to begin their adaptation journey. For a practical perspective, we operationalised this typology into concrete steps by introducing the business adaptation framework. As a demonstration of the CCAR typology, it is designed as a globally applicable, step-by-step process to kickstart companies seeking to improve their climate resilience or that will soon be subject to disclosure requirements. Complementing regulatory standards, our framework helps businesses take the first steps to systematically assess risks and strategise countermeasures; thereby aiming to set a precedent for climate-adapted businesses.

Integrating theoretical knowledge and practical CCAR implications, we facilitate a nuanced understanding of what state of climate adaptation and resilience corporates should strive for. To develop this further, the systematic literature review allowed us to identify blindspots where future academic work is required. Highlighting these gaps, we aim to direct research towards areas that will best support private sector adaptation endeavours. As the climate crisis accelerates, the ability of corporates to adapt will be critical. This research should serve as a stepping stone, equipping businesses with a better understanding of how to navigate the complexities that lie ahead.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

All articles included in this systematic literature review are available in the Supplementary Information. Further data that support the findings of this study will be made available upon reasonable request by the Corresponding Author.

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Hennes, K., Bendig, D. & Löschel, A. Facing the storm: Developing corporate adaptation and resilience action plans amid climate uncertainty. npj Clim. Action 3 , 37 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-024-00116-2

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Affiliation South Asian Forum for Environment, India

* E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]

Affiliation Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Lausanne, Switzerland

• Amitava Aich, 
• Dipayan Dey, 
• Arindam Roy

Published: July 28, 2022

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000022
• Reader Comments

The impact of climate change on agricultural practices is raising question marks on future food security of billions of people in tropical and subtropical regions. Recently introduced, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) techniques encourage the practices of sustainable agriculture, increasing adaptive capacity and resilience to shocks at multiple levels. However, it is extremely difficult to develop a single framework for climate change resilient agricultural practices for different agrarian production landscape. Agriculture accounts for nearly 30% of Indian gross domestic product (GDP) and provide livelihood of nearly two-thirds of the population of the country. Due to the major dependency on rain-fed irrigation, Indian agriculture is vulnerable to rainfall anomaly, pest invasion, and extreme climate events. Due to their close relationship with environment and resources, indigenous people are considered as one of the most vulnerable community affected by the changing climate. In the milieu of the climate emergency, multiple indigenous tribes from different agroecological zones over India have been selected in the present study to explore the adaptive potential of indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK)-based agricultural practices against climate change. The selected tribes are inhabitants of Eastern Himalaya (Apatani), Western Himalaya (Lahaulas), Eastern Ghat (Dongria-Gondh), and Western Ghat (Irular) representing rainforest, cold desert, moist upland, and rain shadow landscape, respectively. The effect of climate change over the respective regions was identified using different Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenario, and agricultural practices resilient to climate change were quantified. Primary results indicated moderate to extreme susceptibility and preparedness of the tribes against climate change due to the exceptionally adaptive ITK-based agricultural practices. A brief policy has been prepared where knowledge exchange and technology transfer among the indigenous tribes have been suggested to achieve complete climate change resiliency.

Citation: Aich A, Dey D, Roy A (2022) Climate change resilient agricultural practices: A learning experience from indigenous communities over India. PLOS Sustain Transform 1(7): e0000022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000022

Editor: Ashwani Kumar, Dr. H.S. Gour Central University, INDIA

Copyright: © 2022 Aich et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

1 Introduction

Traditional agricultural systems provide sustenance and livelihood to more than 1 billion people [ 1 – 3 ]. They often integrate soil, water, plant, and animal management at a landscape scale, creating mosaics of different land uses. These landscape mosaics, some of which have existed for hundreds of years, are maintained by local communities through practices based on traditional knowledge accumulated over generations [ 4 ]. Climate change threatens the livelihood of rural communities [ 5 ], often in combination with pressures coming from demographic change, insecure land tenure and resource rights, environmental degradation, market failures, inappropriate policies, and the erosion of local institutions [ 6 – 8 ]. Empowering local communities and combining farmers’ and external knowledge have been identified as some of the tools for meeting these challenges [ 9 ]. However, their experiences have received little attention in research and among policy makers [ 10 ].

Traditional agricultural landscapes as linked social–ecological systems (SESs), whose resilience is defined as consisting of 3 characteristics: the capacity to (i) absorb shocks and maintain function; (ii) self-organize; (iii) learn and adapt [ 11 ]. Resilience is not about an equilibrium of transformation and persistence. Instead, it explains how transformation and persistence work together, allowing living systems to assimilate disturbance, innovation, and change, while at the same time maintaining characteristic structures and processes [ 12 ]. Agriculture is one of the most sensitive systems influenced by changes in weather and climate patterns. In recent years, climate change impacts have been become the greatest threats to global food security [ 13 , 14 ]. Climate change results a decline in food production and consequently rising food prices [ 15 , 16 ]. Indigenous people are good observers of changes in weather and climate and acclimatize through several adaptive and mitigation strategies [ 17 , 18 ].

Traditional agroecosystems are receiving rising attention as sustainable alternatives to industrial farming [ 19 ]. They are getting increased considerations for biodiversity conservation and sustainable food production in changing climate [ 20 ]. Indigenous agriculture systems are diverse, adaptable, nature friendly, and productive [ 21 ]. Higher vegetation diversity in the form of crops and trees escalates the conversion of CO 2 to organic form and consequently reducing global warming [ 22 ]. Mixed cropping not only decreases the risk of crop failure, pest, and disease but also diversifies the food supply [ 23 ]. It is estimated that traditional multiple cropping systems provide 15% to 20% of the world’s food supply [ 1 ]. Agro-forestry, intercropping, crop rotation, cover cropping, traditional organic composting, and integrated crop-animal farming are prominent traditional agricultural practices [ 24 , 25 ].

Traditional agricultural landscapes refer to the landscapes with preserved traditional sustainable agricultural practices and conserved biodiversity [ 26 , 27 ]. They are appreciated for their aesthetic, natural, cultural, historical, and socioeconomic values [ 28 ]. Since the beginning of agriculture, peasants have been continually adjusting their agriculture practices with change in climatic conditions [ 29 ]. Indigenous farmers have a long history of climate change adaptation through making changes in agriculture practices [ 30 ]. Indigenous farmers use several techniques to reduce climate-driven crop failure such as use of drought-tolerant local varieties, polyculture, agro-forestry, water harvesting, and conserving soil [ 31 – 33 ]. Indigenous peasants use various natural indicators to forecast the weather patterns such as changes in the behavior of local flora and fauna [ 34 , 35 ].

The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approach [ 36 ] has 3 objectives: (i) sustainably enhancing agricultural productivity to support equitable increase in income, food security, and development; (ii) increasing adaptive capacity and resilience to shocks at multiple levels, from farm to national; and (iii) reducing Green House Gases (GHG) emissions and increasing carbon sequestration where possible. Indigenous peoples, whose livelihood activities are most respectful of nature and the environment, suffer immediately, directly, and disproportionately from climate change and its consequences. Indigenous livelihood systems, which are closely linked to access to land and natural resources, are often vulnerable to environmental degradation and climate change, especially as many inhabit economically and politically marginal areas in fragile ecosystems in the countries likely to be worst affected by climate change [ 25 ]. The livelihood of many indigenous and local communities, in particular, will be adversely affected if climate and associated land-use change lead to losses in biodiversity. Indigenous peoples in Asia are particularly vulnerable to changing weather conditions resulting from climate change, including unprecedented strength of typhoons and cyclones and long droughts and prolonged floods [ 15 ]. Communities report worsening food and water insecurity, increases in water- and vector-borne diseases, pest invasion, destruction of traditional livelihoods of indigenous peoples, and cultural ethnocide or destruction of indigenous cultures that are linked with nature and agricultural cycles [ 37 ].

The Indian region is one of the world’s 8 centres of crop plant origin and diversity with 166 food/crop species and 320 wild relatives of crops have originated here (Dr R.S. Rana, personal communication). India has 700 recorded tribal groups with population of 104 million as per 2011 census [ 38 ] and many of them practicing diverse indigenous farming techniques to suit the needs of various respective ecoclimatic zones. The present study has been designed as a literature-based analytical review of such practices among 4 different ethnic groups in 4 different agroclimatic and geographical zones of India, viz, the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh, the Dongria Kondh of Niamgiri hills of Odisha, the Irular in the Nilgiris, and the Lahaulas of Himachal Pradesh to evaluating the following objectives: (i) exploring comparatively the various indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK)-based farming practices in the different agroclimatic regions; (ii) climate resiliency of those practices; and (iii) recommending policy guidelines.

2 Methodology

2.1 systematic review of literature.

An inventory of various publications in the last 30 years on the agro biodiversity, ethno botany, traditional knowledge, indigenous farming practices, and land use techniques of 4 different tribes of India in 4 different agroclimatic and geographical zones viz, the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh, the Dongria Kondh of Niamgiri hills of Odisha, the Irular in the Nilgiris, and the Lahaulas of Himachal Pradesh has been done based on key word topic searches in journal repositories like Google Scholar. A small but significant pool of led and pioneering works has been identified, category, or subtopics are developed most striking observations noted.

2.2 Understanding traditional practices and climate resiliency

The most striking traditional agricultural practices of the 4 major tribes were noted. A comparative analysis of different climate resilient traditional practices of the 4 types were made based on existing information available via literature survey. Effects of imminent dangers of possible extreme events and impact of climate change on these 4 tribes were estimated based on existing facts and figures. A heat map representing climate change resiliency of these indigenous tribes has been developed using R-programming language, and finally, a reshaping policy framework for technology transfers and knowledge sharing among the tribes for successfully helping them to achieve climate resiliency has been suggested.

2.3 Study area

Four different agroclimatic zones and 4 different indigenous groups were chosen for this particular study. The Apatanis live in the small plateau called Zero valley ( Fig 1 ) surrounded by forested mountains of Eastern Himalaya in the Lower Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located at 27.63° N, 93.83° E at an altitude ranging between 1,688 m to 2,438 m. Rainfall is heavy and can be up to 400 mm in monsoon months. Temperature varies from moderate in summer to very cold in the winter months. Their approximate population is around 12,806 (as per 2011 census), and Tibetan and Ahom sources indicate that they have been inhabiting the area from at least the 15th century and probably much earlier ( https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5893/ ).

• PPT PowerPoint slide
• PNG larger image
• TIFF original image

The base map is prepared using QGIS software.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000022.g001

The Lahaulas are the inhabitants of Lahaul valley ( Fig 1 ) that is located in the western Himalayan region of Lahaul and Spiti and lies between the Pir Panjal in the south and Zanskar in the north. It is located between 76° 46′ and 78° 41′ east longitudes and between 31° 44′ and 32° 59′ north altitudes. The Lahaul valley receives scanty rainfalls, almost nil in summer, and its only source of moisture is snow during the winter. Temperature is generally cold. The combined population of Lahaul and Spiti is 31,564 (as per 2011 census).

The Dongria Kondh is one of the officially designated primitive tribal group (PTG) in the Eastern Ghat region of the state Orissa. They are the original inhabitants of Niyamgiri hilly region ( Fig 1 ) that extends to Rayagada, Koraput, and Kalahandi districts of south Orissa. Dongria Kondhs have an estimated population of about 10,000 and are distributed in around 120 settlements, all at an altitude up to 1,500 above the sea level [ 39 ]. It is located between 190 26′ to 190 43′ N latitude and 830 18′ to 830 28′ E longitudes with a maximum elevation of 1,516 meters. The Niyamgiri hill range abounds with streams. More than 100 streams flows from the Niyamgiri hills and 36 streams originate from Niyamgiri plateau (just below the Niyam Raja), and most of the streams are perennial. Niyamgiri hills have been receiving high rainfall since centuries and drought is unheard of in this area.

The Irular tribes inhabit the Palamalai hills and Nilgiris of Western Ghats ( Fig 1 ). Their total population may be 200,000 (as per 2011 census). The Palamali Hills is situated in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, lies between 11° 14.46′ and 12° 53.30′ north latitude and between 77° 32.52′ to 78° 35.05′ east longitude. It is located 1,839 m from the mean sea level (MSL) and more over the climate of the district is whole dry except north east monsoon seasons [ 40 , 41 ]. Nilgiri district is hilly, lying at an elevation of 1,000 to 2,600 m above MSL and divided between the Nilgiri plateau and the lower, smaller Wayanad plateau. The district lies at the juncture of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. Its latitudinal and longitudinal location is 130 km (latitude: 11° 12 N to 11° 37 N) by 185 km (longitude 76° 30 E to 76° 55 E). It has cooler and wetter climate with high average rainfall.

3 Results and discussion

3.1 indigenous agricultural practices in 4 different agro-biodiversity hotspots.

Previous literatures on the agricultural practices of indigenous people in 4 distinct agro-biodiversity hotspots did not necessarily focus on climate resilient agriculture. The authors of these studies had elaborately discussed about the agro-biodiversity, farming techniques, current scenario, and economical sustainability in past and present context of socioecological paradigm. However, no studies have been found to address direct climate change resiliency of traditional indigenous agricultural practices over Indian subcontinent to the best of our knowledge. The following section will primarily focus on the agricultural practices of indigenous tribes and how they can be applied on current eco-agricultural scenario in the milieu of climate change over different agricultural macroenvironments in the world.

3.1.1 Apatani tribes (Eastern Himalaya).

The Apatanis practice both wet and terrace cultivation and paddy cum fish culture with finger millet on the bund (small dam). Due to these special attributes of sustainable farming systems and people’s traditional ecological knowledge in sustaining ecosystems, the plateau is in the process of declaring as World Heritage centre [ 42 – 44 ]. The Apatanis have developed age-old valley rice cultivation has often been counted to be one of the advanced tribal communities in the northeastern region of India [ 45 ]. It has been known for its rich economy for decades and has good knowledge of land, forest, and water management [ 46 ]. The wet rice fields are irrigated through well-managed canal systems [ 47 ]. It is managed by diverting numerous streams originated in the forest into single canal and through canal each agriculture field is connected with bamboo or pinewood pipe.

The entire cultivation procedure by the Apatani tribes are organic and devoid of artificial soil supplements. The paddy-cum-fish agroecosystem are positioned strategically to receive all the run off nutrients from the hills and in addition to that, regular appliance of livestock manure, agricultural waste, kitchen waste, and rice chaff help to maintain soil fertility [ 48 ]. Irrigation, cultivation, and harvesting of paddy-cum-fish agricultural system require cooperation, experience, contingency plans, and discipline work schedule. Apatani tribes have organized tasks like construction and maintenance of irrigation, fencing, footpath along the field, weeding, field preparation, transplantation, harvesting, and storing. They are done by the different groups of farmers and supervised by community leaders (Gaon Burha/Panchayat body). Scientific and place-based irrigation solution using locally produced materials, innovative paddy-cum-fish aquaculture, community participation in collective farming, and maintaining agro-biodiversity through regular usage of indigenous landraces have potentially distinguished the Apatani tribes in the context of agro-biodiversity regime on mountainous landscape.

3.1.2 Lahaula (Western Himalaya).

The Lahaul tribe has maintained a considerable agro-biodiversity and livestock altogether characterizing high level of germ plasm conservation [ 49 ]. Lahaulas living in the cold desert region of Lahaul valley are facultative farmers as they able to cultivate only for 6 months (June to November) as the region remained ice covered during the other 6 months of the year. Despite of the extreme weather conditions, Lahaulas are able to maintain high level of agro-biodiversity through ice-water harvesting, combinatorial cultivation of traditional and cash crops, and mixed agriculture–livestock practices. Indigenous practices for efficient use of water resources in such cold arid environment with steep slopes are distinctive. Earthen channels (Nullah or Kuhi) for tapping melting snow water are used for irrigation. Channel length run anywhere from a few meters to more than 5 km. Ridges and furrows transverse to the slope retard water flow and soil loss [ 50 ]. Leaching of soil nutrients due to the heavy snow cover gradually turns the fertile soil into unproductive one [ 51 ]. The requirement of high quantity organic manure is met through composting livestock manure, night soil, kitchen waste, and forest leaf litter in a specially designed community composting room. On the advent of summer, compost materials are taken into the field for improving the soil quality.

Domesticated Yaks ( Bos grunniens ) is crossed with local cows to produce cold tolerant offspring of several intermediate species like Gari, Laru, Bree, and Gee for drought power and sources of protein. Nitrogen fixing trees like Seabuckthrone ( Hippophae rhamnoides ) are also cultivated along with the crops to meet the fuels and fodder requires for the long winter period. Crop rotation is a common practice among the Lahaulas. Domesticated wild crop, local variety, and cash crops are rotated to ensure the soil fertility and maintaining the agro-biodiversity. Herbs and indigenous medicinal plants are cultivated simultaneously with food crops and cash crop to maximize the farm output. A combinatorial agro-forestry and agro-livestock approach of the Lahaulas have successfully able to generate sufficient revenue and food to sustain 6 months of snow-covered winter in the lap of western Himalayan high-altitude landscape. This also helps to maintain the local agro-biodiversity of the immensely important ecoregion.

3.1.3 Dongria Kondh (Eastern Ghat).

Dongria Kondh tribes, living at the semiarid hilly range of Eastern Ghats, have been applying sustainable agro-forestry techniques and a unique mixed crop system for several centuries since their establishment in the tropical dry deciduous hilly forest ecoregion. The forest is a source for 18 different non-timber forest products like mushroom, bamboo, fruits, vegetables, seeds, leaf, grass, and medicinal products. The Kondh people sustainably uses the forest natural capital such a way that maintain the natural stock and simultaneously ensure the constant flow of products. Around 70% of the resources have been consumed by the tribes, whereas 30% of the resources are being sold to generate revenue for further economic and agro-forest sustainability [ 52 ]. The tribe faces moderate to acute food grain crisis during the post-sowing monsoon period and they completely rely upon different alternative food products from the forest. The system has been running flawlessly until recent time due to the aggressive mining activity, natural resources depleted significantly, and the food security have been compromised [ 53 ].

However, the Kondh farmer have developed a very interesting agrarian technique where they simultaneously grow 80 varieties of different crops ranging from paddy, millet, leaves, pulses, tubers, vegetables, sorghum, legumes, maize, oil-seeds, etc. [ 54 ]. In order to grow so many crops in 1 dongor (the traditional farm lands of Dongria Kondhs on lower hill slopes), the sowing period and harvesting period extends up to 5 months from April till the end of August and from October to February basing upon climatic suitability, respectively.

Genomic profiling of millets like finger millet, pearl millet, and sorghum suggest that they are climate-smart grain crops ideal for environments prone to drought and extreme heat [ 55 ]. Even the traditional upland paddy varieties they use are less water consuming, so are resilient to drought-like conditions, and are harvested between 60 and 90 days of sowing. As a result, the possibility of complete failure of a staple food crop like millets and upland paddy grown in a dongor is very low even in drought-like conditions [ 56 ].

The entire agricultural method is extremely organic in nature and devoid of any chemical pesticide, which reduces the cost of farming and at the same time help to maintain environmental sustainability [ 57 ].

3.1.4 Irular tribes (Western Ghat).

Irulas or Irular tribes, inhabiting at the Palamalai mountainous region of Western Ghats and also Nilgiri hills are practicing 3 crucial age-old traditional agricultural techniques, i.e., indigenous pest management, traditional seed and food storage methods, and age-old experiences and thumb rules on weather prediction. Similar to the Kondh tribes, Irular tribes also practice mixed agriculture. Due to the high humidity in the region, the tribes have developed and rigorously practices storage distinct methods for crops, vegetables, and seeds. Eleven different techniques for preserving seeds and crops by the Irular tribes are recorded till now. They store pepper seeds by sun drying for 2 to 3 days and then store in the gunny bags over the platform made of bamboo sticks to avoid termite attack. Paddy grains are stored with locally grown aromatic herbs ( Vitex negundo and Pongamia pinnata ) leaves in a small mud-house. Millets are buried under the soil (painted with cow dung slurry) and can be stored up to 1 year. Their storage structure specially designed to allow aeration protect insect and rodent infestation [ 58 ]. Traditional knowledge of cross-breeding and selection helps the Irular enhancing the genetic potential of the crops and maintaining indigenous lines of drought resistant, pest tolerant, disease resistant sorghum, millet, and ragi [ 59 , 60 ].

Irular tribes are also good observer of nature and pass the traditional knowledge of weather phenomenon linked with biological activity or atmospheric condition. Irular use the behavioral fluctuation of dragonfly, termites, ants, and sheep to predict the possibility of rainfall. Atmospheric phenomenon like ring around the moon, rainbow in the evening, and morning cloudiness are considered as positive indicator of rainfall, whereas dense fog is considered as negative indicator. The Irular tribes also possess and practice traditional knowledge on climate, weather, forecasting, and rainfall prediction [ 58 ]. The Irular tribes also gained extensive knowledge in pest management as 16 different plant-based pesticides have been documented that are all completely biological in nature. The mode of actions of these indigenous pesticides includes anti-repellent, anti-feedent, stomach poison, growth inhibitor, and contact poisoning. All of these pesticides are prepared from common Indian plants extract like neem, chili, tobacco, babul, etc.

The weather prediction thumb rules are not being validated with real measurement till now but understanding of the effect of forecasting in regional weather and climate pattern in agricultural practices along with biological pest control practices and seed conservation have made Irular tribe unique in the context of global agro-biodiversity conservation.

3.2 Climate change risk in indigenous agricultural landscape

The effect of climate change over the argo-ecological landscape of Lahaul valley indicates high temperature stress as increment of number of warm days, 0.16°C average temperature and 1.1 to 2.5°C maximum temperature are observed in last decades [ 61 , 62 ]. Decreasing trend of rainfall during monsoon and increasing trend of consecutive dry days in last several decades strongly suggest future water stress in the abovementioned region over western Himalaya. Studies on the western Himalayan region suggest presence of climate anomaly like retraction of glaciers, decreasing number of snowfall days, increasing incident of pest attack, and extreme events on western Himalayan region [ 63 – 65 ].

Apatani tribes in eastern Himalayan landscape are also experiencing warmer weather with 0.2°C increment in maximum and minimum temperature [ 66 ]. Although no significant trend in rainfall amount has been observed, however 11% decrease in rainy day and 5% to 15% decrease in rainfall amount by 2030 was speculated using regional climate model [ 67 ]. Increasing frequency of extreme weather events like flashfloods, cloudburst, landslide, etc. and pathogen attack in agricultural field will affect the sustainable agro-forest landscape of Apatani tribes. Similar to the Apatani and Lahaulas tribes, Irular and Dongria Kondh tribes are also facing climate change effect via increase in maximum and minimum temperature and decrease in rainfall and increasing possibility of extreme weather event [ 68 , 69 ]. In addition, the increasing number of forest fire events in the region is also an emerging problem due to the dryer climate [ 70 ].

Higher atmospheric and soil temperature in the crop growing season have direct impact on plant physiological processes and therefore has a declining effect on crop productivity, seedling mortality, and pollen viability [ 71 ]. Anomaly in precipitation amount and pattern also affect crop development by reducing plant growth [ 72 ]. Extreme events like drought and flood could alter soil fertility, reduce water holding capacity, increase nutrient run off, and negatively impact seed and crop production [ 73 ]. Agricultural pest attack increases at higher temperature as it elevates their food consumption capability and reproduction rate [ 74 ].

3.3 Climate resiliency through indigenous agro-forestry

Three major climate-resilient and environmentally friendly approaches in all 4 tribes can broadly classified as (i) organic farming; (ii) soil and water conservation and community farming; and (iii) maintain local agro-biodiversity. The practices under these 3 regimes have been listed in Table 1 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000022.t001

Human and animal excreta, plant residue, ashes, decomposed straw, husk, and other by-products are used to make organic fertilizer and compost material that helps to maintain soil fertility in the extreme orographic landscape with high run-off. Community farming begins with division of labour and have produced different highly specialized skilled individual expert in different farming techniques. It needs to be remembered that studied tribes live in an area with complex topological feature and far from advance technological/logistical support. Farming in such region is extremely labour intensive, and therefore, community farming has become essential for surviving. All 4 tribes have maintained their indigenous land races of different crops, cereal, vegetables, millets, oil-seeds, etc. that give rises to very high agro-biodiversity in all 4 regions. For example, Apatanis cultivate 106 species of plants with 16 landraces of indigenous rice and 4 landraces of indigenous millet [ 75 ]. Similarly, 24 different crops, vegetables, and medicinal plants are cultivated by the Lahaulas, and 50 different indigenous landraces are cultivated by Irular and Dongria Kondh tribes.

The combination of organic firming and high indigenous agro-biodiversity create a perfect opportunity for biological control of pests. Therefore, other than Irular tribe, all 3 tribes depend upon natural predator like birds and spiders, feeding on the indigenous crop, for predation of pests. Irular tribes developed multiple organic pest management methods from extract of different common Indian plants. Apatani and Lahaulas incorporate fish and livestock into their agricultural practices, respectively, to create a circular approach to maximize the utilization of waste material produced. At a complex topographic high-altitude landscape where nutrient run-off is very high, the practices of growing plants with animals also help to maintain soil fertility. Four major stresses due to the advancement of climate change have been identified in previous section, and climate change resiliency against these stresses has been graphically presented in Fig 2 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pstr.0000022.g002

Retraction of the glaciers and direct physiological impact on the livestock due to the temperature stress have made the agricultural practices of the Lahaula’s vulnerable to climate change. However, Irular and Dongria Kondh tribes are resilient to the temperature stress due to their heat-resistant local agricultural landraces, and Apatanis will remain unaffected due to their temperate climate and vast forest cover. Dongria Kondh tribe will successfully tackle the water stress due to their low-water farming techniques and simultaneous cultivation of multiple crops that help to retain the soil moisture by reducing evaporation. Hundreds of perennial streams of Nyamgiri hills are also sustainably maintained and utilised by the Dongria Kondhs along with the forests, which gives them enough subsistence in form of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). However, although Apatani and Lahuala tribe extensively reuse and recirculate water in their field but due to the higher water requirement of paddy-cum-fish and paddy-cum-livestock agriculture, resiliency would be little less compared to Dongria Kondh.

Presence of vast forest cover, very well-structured irrigation system, contour agriculture and layered agricultural field have provided resiliency to the Apatani’s from extreme events like flash flood, landslides, and cloud burst. Due to their seed protection practices and weather prediction abilities, Irular tribe also show resiliency to the extreme events. However, forest fire and flash flood risk in both Eastern Ghat and Western Ghat have been increased and vegetation has significantly decreased in recent past. High risk of flash flood, land slide, avalanches, and very low vegetation coverage have made the Lahaulas extremely vulnerable to extreme events. Robust pest control methods of Irular tribe and age-old practices of intercropping, mixed cropping, and sequence cropping of the Dongria Kondh tribe will resist pest attack in near future.

3.4 Reshaping policy

Temperature stress, water stress, alien pest attack, and increasing risk of extreme events are pointed out as the major risks in the above described 4 indigenous tribes. However, every tribe has shown their own climate resiliency in their traditional agrarian practices, and therefore, a technology transfers and knowledge sharing among the tribes would successfully help to achieve the climate resilient closure. The policy outcome may be summarizing as follows:

• Designing, structuring and monitoring of infrastructural network of Apatani and Lahaul tribes (made by bamboo in case of Apatanis and Pine wood and stones in case of Lahaulas) for waster harvesting should be more rugged and durable to resilient against increasing risk of flash flood and cloud burst events.
• Water recycling techniques like bunds, ridges, and furrow used by Apatani and Lahaul tribes could be adopted by Irular and Dongria Kondh tribes as Nilgiri and Koraput region will face extreme water stress in coming decades.
• Simultaneous cultivation of multiple crops by the Dongria Kondh tribe could be acclimated by the other 3 tribes as this practice is not only drought resistance but also able to maximize the food security of the population.
• Germplasm storage and organic pest management knowledge by the Irular tribes could be transferred to the other 3 tribes to tackle the post-extreme event situations and alien pest attack, respectively.
• Overall, it is strongly recommended that the indigenous knowledge of agricultural practices needs to be conserved. Government and educational institutions need to focus on harvesting the traditional knowledge by the indigenous community.

3.5 Limitation

One of the major limitations of the study is lack of significant number of quantifiable literature/research articles about indigenous agricultural practices over Indian subcontinent. No direct study assessing risk of climate change among the targeted agroecological landscapes has been found to the best of our knowledge. Therefore, the current study integrates socioeconomic status of indigenous agrarian sustainability and probable climate change risk in the present milieu of climate emergency of 21st century. Uncertainty in the current climate models and the spatiotemporal resolution of its output is also a minor limitation as the study theoretically correlate and proposed reshaped policy by using the current and future modeled agro-meteorological parameters.

4. Conclusions

In the present study, an in-depth analysis of CSA practices among the 4 indigenous tribes spanning across different agro-biodiversity hotspots over India was done, and it was observed that every indigenous community is more or less resilient to the adverse effect of climate change on agriculture. Thousands years of traditional knowledge has helped to develop a unique resistance against climate change among the tribes. However, the practices are not well explored through the eyes of modern scientific perspective, and therefore, might goes extinct through the course of time. A country-wide study on the existing indigenous CSA practices is extremely important to produce a database and implementation framework that will successfully help to resist the climate change effect on agrarian economy of tropical countries. Perhaps the most relevant aspect of the study is the realization that economically and socially backward farmers cope with and even prepare for climate change by minimizing crop failure through increased use of drought tolerant local varieties, water harvesting, mixed cropping, agro-forestry, soil conservation practices, and a series of other traditional techniques.

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by Stephanie Seay, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Local decision-makers looking for ways to reduce the impact of heat waves on their communities have a valuable new capability at their disposal: a new study on vegetation resilience.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.

Vegetation such as trees provide a valuable cooling effect, shading surfaces and deflecting solar radiation while releasing moisture into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration—the process in which plants absorb water through their roots and release it as water vapor through their leaves.

The study, published in the journal PNAS Nexus , is the first nationwide accounting of vegetation resilience that takes into account the influence of human-built infrastructure. Using machine learning methods, ORNL researchers examined about two decades' worth of satellite and other data covering 85 large cities and surrounding rural areas.

The team found that impervious surfaces such as roads and other infrastructure, moisture conditions, and type of land cover affect vegetation resilience. They also evaluated how vegetation is impacted by the intensity, duration, and timing of heat waves.

The data provide crucial insights into how ecosystems can be guarded against climate change , including pathways to counteract the influence of urban heat islands and to improve the stewardship of natural resource areas, said Jiafu Mao, ORNL Earth system modeling scientist and the project's lead.

"The empirical evidence we provide from this research can help urban planners better understand which plants are more vulnerable to heat waves and stressors such as water availability in the local environment, guiding decisions about plant selection and location and urban design improvements," Mao said.

"The study suggests that preserving and enhancing vegetation could significantly contribute to urban sustainability, air quality improvements, and the well-being of residents."

The work extends ORNL's research on climate impacts in urban and rural ecosystems. In a previous study, Mao and colleagues found that while all regions of the country can expect an earlier start to the growing season as temperatures rise, the trend is likely to become more variable year over year in hotter regions. The research found a trend of accelerated spring budding and blooming of plants in rural areas as temperatures rise, for instance, but suggested the trend will slow as warming continues.

Identifying patterns to guide local decision-making

The new vegetation resilience study described in PNAS Nexus revealed a general trend of increased early greening in response to warmer temperatures in traditionally cooler months. But as temperatures soared and heat persisted, vegetation greening often significantly declined, said Yaoping Wang, an ORNL postdoctoral research associate and first author of the paper.

The study identified a temperature of 2 degrees Celsius or higher above the historical summer average, persisting for four months or more as the threshold for the most significant effects on greening.

Findings varied with local ecosystem characteristics. For instance, urban vegetation was found more resilient in the western United States than in the East during the analysis period, mainly because of higher urban growth temperatures and better irrigation practices in the West, the scientists noted.

"Our analysis is the first large-scale quantification of urban and rural differences in vegetation and its resilience to extreme events across the contiguous U.S., capturing these very broad patterns on environmental change," Wang said. Future investigations that capture more high-quality data would benefit both urban planners and ecosystem modelers, she added.

The project provides valuable data on the complex interactions between biological and environmental factors at multiple scales over time, down to a 1-kilometer resolution, Mao said. The information has also been used to fine-tune the land surface component that ORNL stewards for the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, which simulates how the world may change in future climate scenarios.

The analysis used the Daymet4 database of daily land surface weather and climatological summaries, part of the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center maintained for NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System project. Scientists also leveraged the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index from NASA and the National Land Cover Database, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The researchers used the random forest machine learning algorithm and other methods in their analysis, as well as the high-performance computing resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility.

Journal information: PNAS Nexus

Provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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Climate change is a women’s issue

Scroll to learn more

Video: Sky News/Film Image Partner

We owe it to ourselves and to the next generation to conserve the environment so that we can bequeath our children a sustainable world that benefits all. Wangari Maathai Environmental activist

The planet is under threat

From human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to the overexploitation of the earth’s natural resources, unsustainable production and consumption patterns pose a risk to all of humanity.

Photo: Yuyao city, Zhejiang province, 2013. Credit: Xinhua / eyevine/Redux

The world’s poorest are often hardest hit

A changing climate affects everyone – but it’s the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable situations, especially women and girls, who bear the brunt of environmental, economic and social shocks.

Photo: Bangladesh, 2011. Credit: Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR/Redux

Climate-induced disasters exacerbate entrenched gender inequalities

Often, women and girls are the last to eat or be rescued; face greater health and safety risks as water and sanitation systems become compromised; and take on increased domestic and care work as resources disappear.

Photo: Haiti, 2016. Credit: UN/MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi

Climate's impact

In many developing countries, women and girls often carry the burden of water and fuel collection and food provision.

Let’s look closer at an example

Photo: Jammu, Kashmir, India, 2016. Credit: Jaipal Singh/EPA

Combined hours spent fetching water every day in 25 sub-Saharan African countries

Data: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation , 2012 Update, UNICEF, WHO

This is my routine three times a day…I have to fetch water for our use and for the goats and sheep too, as they are too weak to walk

Paulina Epung’u

Mother of seven in Kenya’s drought-stricken District Turkana

Photo: Kenya, 2017. Credit: UN Women/Kennedy Okoth

Climate change increases the risk of droughts

Droughts can destroy crops, soils, flora and fauna, intensify food scarcity, and worsen the situation of women and girls, particularly in already fragile places.

Photo: Llapallapani, Bolivia, 2016. Credit: Josh Haner/The New York Times/Redux

The various consequences of drought

• Violence against women
• Maternal deaths
• Child Marriage
• Malnutrition
• Illegal land grabbing
• Sanitation & hygiene
• Living conditions
• Food security
• Fuel supplies
• School attendance

We have no other spare or replacement planet. We have only this one, and we have to take action. Berta Cáceres Honduran indigenous and environmental rights activist

Implementing change

The time to act is now.

As early adopters of new agricultural techniques, first responders in crises, entrepreneurs of green energy, or decision-makers at home, women are agents of change who must equally be part of the solution towards a sustainable future.

Here’s how UN Women and its partners are paving the way

Photo: Mali, 2013. Credit: World Bank/Dominic Chavez

Sustainable solutions

The situation

Today, greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels remain primary energy sources. Women disproportionately bear the burden of energy poverty.

1 . 1  billion

People lacking access to electricity.

3  billion

People still cooking and heating their homes with solid fuels.

4 . 3  million

Deaths linked to household air pollution generated by solid fuels in 2012.

Data: Access to electricity , The World Bank; World Health Statistics 2017, Monitoring Health for the SDGs , World Health Organization. Photo: Vietnam, 2011. Credit: UN Photo/Kibae Park

The response

UN Women and UN Environment have joined forces under a global programme to promote women’s entrepreneurship for sustainable energy. The programme will initially roll out in Senegal, Morocco, Myanmar, India, Indonesia and Bolivia.

Women in India estimated to gain access to clean, renewable energy as part of current programme efforts

Photo: Liberia, 2015. Credit: Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos for UN Women

Gender-responsive action

Parts of Africa and Western Asia are confronting a humanitarian crisis brought on by drought.

3 . 4  million

People lacking food security out of the 5.6 million affected by drought.

3 6 , 9 8 8

Pregnant and lactating women requiring treatment for malnutrition.

Data: 2017 Flash Appeal, September-December 2017 , ReliefWeb;  Kenya: US$106 million needed to step up drought response in the critical months ahead , UN OCHA. Photo: Yemen, 2016. Credit: Tyler Hicks/The New York Times/Redux

UN agencies have mobilized to provide shelter, water, food, sanitation, emergency relief and protection services. In Kenya, for instance, UN Women is working with the government’s drought agency to address women’s unique needs.

$ 1 0 6  million

2017 flash appeal by 46 humanitarian agencies to reach 1.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of drought in Kenya

Data: 2017 Flash Appeal, September-December 2017 , ReliefWeb;  Kenya: US$106 million needed to step up drought response in the critical months ahead , UN OCHA. Photo: Kenya, 2015. Credit: Dai Kurokawa/EPA

Climate resilience

Global warming, rising temperatures and sea levels, and extreme weather events are threatening island nations and coastal communities, putting the livelihoods of millions at risk.

Additional climate-related deaths per year expected between 2030 and 2050 from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress.

Data: Climate change and health , World Health Organization. Photo: Texas, USA, 2017. Credit: Andrew Burton/The New York Times/Redux

In Seychelles, women-led Wildlife Clubs, supported by a UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme, are teaching future generations about mangrove conservation and ocean sustainability. In Bangladesh, UN Women has strengthened disaster response systems across the country’s 10 most climate-vulnerable districts.

Bangladeshi women trained under UN Women- supported efforts to respond to disasters.

Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Together, we can achieve a sustainable future for all.

Step it up for gender equality..

REVIEW article

The linkage between global financial crises, corporate social responsibility and climate change: unearthing research opportunities through bibliometric reviews provisionally accepted.

• 1 Kotebe University of Education, Ethiopia
• 2 University of Johannesburg, South Africa

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Financial matters, corporate social responsibility (CSR), climate change, and other sustainable solutions all work in tandem. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the integration between various components during crises, it is necessary to provide knowledge of the interaction between financial, societal, and environmental aspects. In order to accomplish this, hundreds of papers were examined and presented using bibliometric analysis. The study demonstrated that, when examining financial crises in relation to CSR and climate change, sustainability issues were clearly examined. Sustainability, environmental economics, governance approaches, and sustainable development are some of the main issues in this comprehensive subject. Besides, the emerging topics that need more research include organizational resilience, global financial crises, and sustainable performance, while there are no specific themes developed in the subject matter that integrate financial crises, CSR, and climate change. Thus, future researchers need to provide new insights on the integration of these concepts.

Keywords: Financial crises, CSR, Climate Change, sustainability, scientific mapping, thematic

Received: 19 Feb 2024; Accepted: 08 May 2024.

Copyright: © 2024 Chebo, Dhliwayo and Batu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Mx. Abdella K. Chebo, Kotebe University of Education, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

People also looked at

Climate resilience strategies in urban, rural areas

Local decision-makers looking for ways to reduce the impact of heat waves on their communities have a valuable new capability at their disposal: a new study on vegetation resilience.

Scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory completed a study of how well vegetation survived extreme heat events in both urban and rural communities across the country in recent years. The analysis informs pathways for climate mitigation, including ways to reduce the effect of urban heat islands.

Vegetation such as trees provide a valuable cooling effect, shading surfaces and deflecting solar radiation while releasing moisture into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration -- the process in which plants absorb water through their roots and release it as water vapor through their leaves.

The study, published in the journal PNAS Nexus , is the first nationwide accounting of vegetation resilience that takes into account the influence of human-built infrastructure. Using machine learning methods, ORNL researchers examined about two decades' worth of satellite and other data covering 85 large cities and surrounding rural areas. The team found that impervious surfaces such as roads and other infrastructure, moisture conditions and type of land cover affect vegetation resilience. They also evaluated how vegetation is impacted by the intensity, duration and timing of heat waves.

The data provide crucial insights into how ecosystems can be guarded against climate change, including pathways to counteract the influence of urban heat islands and to improve the stewardship of natural resource areas, said Jiafu Mao, ORNL Earth system modeling scientist and the project's lead.

"The empirical evidence we provide from this research can help urban planners better understand which plants are more vulnerable to heat waves and stressors such as water availability in the local environment, guiding decisions about plant selection and location and urban design improvements," Mao said. "The study suggests that preserving and enhancing vegetation could significantly contribute to urban sustainability, air quality improvements and the well-being of residents."

The work extends ORNL's research on climate impacts in urban and rural ecosystems. In a previous study, Mao and colleagues found that while all regions of the country can expect an earlier start to the growing season as temperatures rise, the trend is likely to become more variable year over year in hotter regions. The research found a trend of accelerated spring budding and blooming of plants in rural areas as temperatures rise, for instance, but suggested the trend will slow as warming continues.

Identifying patterns to guide local decision-making

The new vegetation resilience study described in PNAS Nexus revealed a general trend of increased early greening in response to warmer temperatures in traditionally cooler months. But as temperatures soared and heat persisted, vegetation greening often significantly declined, said Yaoping Wang, an ORNL postdoctoral research associate and first author on the paper. The study identified a temperature of 2 degrees Celsius or higher above the historical summer average persisting for four months or more as the threshold for the most significant effects on greening.

Findings varied with local ecosystem characteristics. For instance, urban vegetation was found more resilient in the western United States than in the East during the analysis period, mainly because of higher urban growth temperatures and better irrigation practices in the West, the scientists noted.

"Our analysis is the first large-scale quantification of urban and rural differences in vegetation and its resilience to extreme events across the contiguous U.S., capturing these very broad patterns on environmental change," Wang said. Future investigations that capture more high-quality data would benefit both urban planners and ecosystem modelers, she added.

The project provides valuable data on the complex interactions between biological and environmental factors at multiple scales over time, down to a 1-kilomenter resolution, Mao said. The information has also been used to fine-tune the land surface component that ORNL stewards for the DOE Energy Exascale Earth System Model, which simulates how the world may change in future climate scenarios.

The analysis used the Daymet4 database of daily land surface weather and climatological summaries, part of the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center maintained for NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System project. Scientists also leveraged the MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index from NASA and the National Land Cover Database, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. The researchers used the random forest machine learning algorithm and other methods in their analysis, as well as the high-performance computing resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility.

• Sustainability
• Environmental Issues
• Global Warming
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Awareness
• Severe Weather
• Urban planning
• Environmental impact assessment
• Waste management
• Paleoclimatology

Story Source:

Materials provided by DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Yaoping Wang, Jiafu Mao, Christa M Brelsford, Daniel M Ricciuto, Fengming Yuan, Xiaoying Shi, Deeksha Rastogi, Melanie M Mayes, Shih-Chieh Kao, Jeffrey M Warren, Natalie A Griffiths, Xinghua Cheng, David J Weston, Yuyu Zhou, Lianhong Gu, Peter E Thornton. Thermal, water, and land cover factors led to contrasting urban and rural vegetation resilience to extreme hot months . PNAS Nexus , 2024; 3 (4) DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae147

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