How to adapt
Adaptation is a process of on-going adjustments in response to climate and non-climate drivers. Many adaptation toolkits and guides have been developed both within the UK and at an international level to help society make progress with adaptation. These resources typically guide the user through a series of steps that move from context setting, though to risk assessment, options assessment, decision making, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review.
In practice, you may find that adaptation is already being considered or implemented within your organisation or community but it isn’t necessarily called ‘adaptation’. This could be flood risk management, biodiversity action planning or urban greening programmes.
As the impacts of climate change will vary from place to place, actions to reduce those risks and increase resilience will need to occur at the local level. In addition, the way climate impacts are experienced will vary depending on the size of your organisation or community, the geographical area that they cover and the resources and capacity available to respond to those impacts. Adaptation therefore needs to be tailored to suit your unique context and situation. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to adaptation, and any tool or guidance should be used flexibly.