Adaptation to climate change is currently characterized by ever-increasing costs to maintain the status quo in the face of growing hazards from climate change. Costs are rising against a backdrop of fiscal austerity – which, the authors argue, has reduced societal resilience through neglected public infrastructure, services and civic spaces in many countries. They note that these cuts make societies more vulnerable to shocks.

To enhance societal resilience and improve the effectiveness of efforts to adapt to a changing climate, governments should recognize the role of austerity policies as a source of vulnerability and, in turn, change course.

They contend that a more cost-effective and orderly form of adaptation can be achieved by engaging with, and shifting, societal values, norms and objectives in decision-making. 

The authors make a case for adopting an approach to climate adaptation that amplifies the political voice of communities, which often lack the power to effect change. In the authors’ framing, adaptation goes beyond (but still includes) responding to hazards by placing greater emphasis on investment in people and advancing their wellbeing.