Climate breakdown is here. It’s time to adapt. But how?

Here’s an inconvenient truth: At some point, humanity must adapt to the many disruptions that climate breakdown is already beginning to inflict around the world. 

Here’s another: At some point, conventional coping strategies — a seawall here, an irrigation system there — won’t suffice. In some cases, they could even make matters worse.

More radical approaches to climate adaptation will be required, explains a new study that lays out how society can
make “transformative” shifts — that is, more fundamental changes that address the root causes of vulnerability to climate impacts. 

“Climate change is happening, and we need to change the way we behave,” said Giacomo Fedele, a scientist with Conservation International and the study’s lead author. “And this is very hard.” 

Consider an area that experiences a flood driven (or exacerbated) by climate breakdown. 

The flood-stricken community might borrow money to repair their homes and replant crops after floodwaters retreat; these are examples of what the study calls coping strategies….