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Module ? Identify and develop basic elements of an implementation plan to progress with adaptation options.

Building on the generic IEA framework, the following are key questions to be answered through
integrated climate change and vulnerability assessments for adaptation in the local, regional and national
context:
1. What are the key exposures and sensitivities leading to vulnerability and how effective are the
applied coping strategies?
9-12 December, 2013 3. What are the adaptation responses that could address the estimated impacts of climate change
2. What are the key consequences of climate change impacts on the environment and human well-
being?

while helping build resilience in natural and human systems?

4. What are the types of policies, capacities and main steps needed to be undertaken to implementation

2 adaptations?
Relevance

Climate change: Impacts and vulnerabilities that the Earth system faces

Climate change is a reality. It is considered the biggest environmental threat in human history and the
defining human challenge for the twenty-first century (IPCC, 2007; UNDP, 2007). Consequences of
climate change are already felt throughout the Earth system. The effects of climate change are observed
on every continent and in all sectors. However, adaptation to these changes needs to not only respond
to these impacts, but also needs to be integrated into sustainable development strategies and their
implementation.

BOX 1 Defining climate change

The Earth’s climate is a complex system consisting of the atmosphere, land surface, snow and

ice, oceans and other bodies of water, and living things. The atmospheric component of the
climate system most obviously characterizes climate; climate is usually defined as “average
weather,” described in terms of the mean and variability of temperature, precipitation and
wind over a period of time, ranging from months to millions of years (the typical period is
30 years).

12 Volume Two - Themes
Vulnerability and Impact assessments for Adaption to Climate Change (VIA Module)