Volume 10, Issue 5 e608
Advanced Review

Responsibility for climate change adaptation

Sirkku K. Juhola

Corresponding Author

Sirkku K. Juhola

Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Correspondence

Sirkku K. Juhola, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Email: [email protected]

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First published: 17 July 2019
Citations: 14
Edited by Lisa Dilling, Domain Editor, and Mike Hulme, Editor-in-Chief

Abstract

As a policy process, climate change adaptation is rapidly advancing. Yet fundamental questions remain unanswered including, who is responsible for planned adaptation and when, who is liable for losses and damages resulting from climate change and how is responsibility distributed in a multilevel governance system? Responsibility can be evaluated in terms of the timing of particular events, the specific societal actors involved and the rules and norms used to attribute responsibility for dealing with those events. Four types of responsibility—care, liability, accountability, and responsiveness for adaptation—are identified, based on empirical studies and examples from the literature. This review demonstrates the need to further explore the normative implications of responsibility and how they should be considered in adaptation governance and policy.

This article is categorized under:

  • Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values-Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation

Graphical Abstract

Typology of responsibility for climate change.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article.