United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Planning, and
Evaluation
EPA230-F-92-007
May 1992
Climate Change
Discussion Series
Adaptation to Climate Change
The increase in atmospheric "green-
house gas" concentrations generated
by human activity since the industrial
revolution has most likely already
committed the globe to some warm-
ing. Without a significant change in
the current pattern of resource use,
further increases m greenhouse gas
concentrations and commitments to
warming are likely. Thus, prudent
measures to facilitate adaptation to
these changes should be considered.
Not only will adaptation to climate
change probably be necessary m the
future, but adaptation options
should be evaluated now. Many
long-term resource management
decisions are now being made with
the assumption that climate in the
future will be similar to that re-
corded m recent history. Climate
change could prove this assump-
tion false, undermining the validity
of the decisions that rest on it. Many
impacts of climate change could be
irreversible Other impacts could be
extremely costly to address if pre-
paratory actions are not taken. There
are options that, if pursued now,
could better prepare the planet for
both global climate change and
known climate variation
These anbapatory options should be
taken when climate change would
cause either irreparable damage or
an unacceptably high cost, or when
an anbapatory measure has a much
higher benefit/cost ratio than a mea-
sure taken after climate changes that
would be taken to protect the same
resource. If anticipatory measures
appear necessary, the following cri-
teria may be used to evaluate antici-
patory options:
Flexibility
Since the tuning and effects of climate
change are uncertain, an anbapatory
strategy needs to be successful under
a variety of conditions, including no
climate change.
CURRENT SEA LEVEL

ACCOMMODATE
1
Regulate building development
Economic Efficiency
Expensive anbapatory actions may
not be justified, unless the costs of cli-
mate change are very high or the im-
pacts are considered to be irreversible
Other Benefits
Anbcipatory actions or strategies
that meet other societal goals be-
sides preparing for climate change
are preferable. (The Administration's
"No Regrets Policy").
RETREAT

W-
Establish building setback codes
PROTECT

Construct seawalls
NOTE Climate change refers to potential modification of the earth's climate resulting from increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon
dioxide (COj), methane (CH,). nitrous oxide (N,0), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) Through a naturally occurring process known as the "greenhouse effect," these
gases act to warm the earth by trapping heat in the atmosphere This process plays an important role in maintaining the earth's current temperature and climate By
increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, human activities are trapping more heat in the atmosphere and potentially changing the earth's climate
Printed on Recycled Paper

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	 Anticipatory Options 	
The following is a listing of anticipatory adaptive options for specific areas. This listing consists only of options
and is not intended to be comprehensive or prescriptive.
Sea Level Rise
•	Provide beach nourishment.
•	Incorporate sea level rise into
coastal infrastructure design.
•	Presumed mobility: Regula-
tions could require land
owners to remove structures
as the sea level rises. For
example, Maine adopted rules
that presume all structures in
the coastal zone must be
moved in response to migrat-
ing coastal ecosystems.
Water Resources
•	Water conservation.
•	Increasing water transfer
capabilities.
•	Protection of water quality.
•	Protection of possible future
supplies
•	River basin planning.
•	Drought contingency planning.
•	Incorporate climate change
into infrastructure design
•	Protection of riparian areas-
Protecting trees living on the
bank of rivers takes advantage
of a natural storage system
that stores water m the winter
and releases it in the summer.
Agriculture
•	Maintain genetic diversity
and develop heat-, drought-,
and pest-resistant crops and
livestock varieties.
•	Increase efficiency of irrigation
practices.
•	Incorporate potential changes
in land use and irrigation
supply and demand into land-
use plans.
•	Prepare for the potential intro-
duction of new pests and
diseases.
•	Increase the use of conservation
tillage and crop rotation.
Forests
•	Maintain forest diversity and
extensiveness.
•	Modify harvesting practices:
Favor harvesting practices that
increase species diversity and
allow for rapid removal of dead
or dying trees.
•	Plant fast-growing and heat-,
drought-, and pest-resistant
species
•	Adjust fire and pest control
strategies.
Biodiversity
•	Strengthen and enlarge
existing protected areas.
•	Establish migration path-
ways between existing
protected areas.
•	Protect areas that may
become suitable habitat for
threatened and endangered
species in the future.
•	Increase restrictions on
zoning and management
around reserves.
•	Avoid permanent alterations
to rivers and streams that
may be important migratory
pathways.
•	Reduce the destruction and
pollution of habitats in
general.
Health
•	Recognize health-debilitat-
ing weather: A watch-
warning system may be
necessary to advise people
when stressful weather
conditions are imminent.
•	Improve disease surveil-
lance systems.
U S EPA Gimjte Change Ducuuion Scnn 1992
Global Climate Change Sea Level Rise
Adaptation to	Transportation
Climate Change	Energy
Forestry	Water Resources
Agriculture	Biodiversity
Order from CLIMATE CHANCE INFORMATION
US EPA
Office of Policy Analysis
Climate Change Division (PM221)
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC XM60
USA
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Based on Adapting to Climate Change What Governments Can Do, prepared by U S EP/Ys Climate Change Division, Washington, DC, 1991
HPA's Climate Change Outreach Program is designed to raise awareness about climate change and provide assistance to state and local
governments, industry, and non-governmental organizations in the evaluation of cost-effective response strategies For further information
about this program, please contact Joel Smith at 202/260-8825

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