TS.D Contribution of Adaptation to Solutions
Health, well-being, migration and displacement
TS.D.8 With proactive, timely and effective adaptation, many risks for human health and well-being could be reduced and some potentially avoided (very high confidence). Building adaptive capacity through sustainable development and encouraging safe and orderly movements of people within and between states represent key adaptation responses to prevent climate-related involuntary migration (high confidence). Reducing poverty, inequity and food and water insecurity and strengthening institutions in particular reduce the risk of conflict and supports climate resilient peace (high confidence).
TS.D.8.3 Many adaptation measures that benefit health and well-being are found in other sectors (e.g., food, livelihoods, social protection, water and sanitation, infrastructure) (high confidence). Such cross-sectoral solutions include improved air quality through renewable energy sources (very high confidence), active transport (e.g., walking and cycling) (high confidence) and sustainable food systems that lead to healthier diets (high confidence). Heat Action Plans have strong potential to prevent mortality from extreme heat events and elevated temperature (high confidence). Nature- based solutions reduce a variety of risks to both physical and mental health and well-being (high confidence). For example, integrated agroecological food systems offer opportunities to improve dietary diversity while building climate-related local resilience to food insecurity (high confidence), especially when combined with gender equity and social justice. Social policy–based adaptation, including education and the adaptation of health systems, offers considerable future scope. The greatest gaps between policy and action are in failures to manage adaptation of social infrastructure (e.g., community facilities, services and networks) and failure to address complex interconnected risks for example in the food–energy–water–health nexus or the inter- relationships of air quality and climate risk (medium confidence).
TS.D.8.8 Meeting SDGs supports adaptive capacity that in turn supports individuals, households and community manage climate risks and supports peace (high confidence). By addressing vulnerability, improving livelihoods and strengthening institutions, meeting the SDGs reduces the risks of armed conflict and violence (medium confidence). Formal institutional arrangements for natural resource management and environmental peacebuilding, conflict-sensitive adaptation and climate-sensitive peacebuilding and gender-sensitive approaches offer potential new avenues to build peace in conflict- prone regions vulnerable to climate change (medium confidence). However, there is currently insufficient evidence on their success and further monitoring and evaluation is required.
Justice, equity and governance
TS.D.9.3 Climate-induced changes are not experienced equally across genders, income levels, classes, ethnicities, ages or physical abilities (high confidence). Therefore, participation of historically excluded groups, such as women, youth and marginalised communities (e.g., Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minorities, the disabled and low-income households), contributes to more equitable and socially just adaptation actions. Adaptation actions do not automatically have positive outcomes for gender equality. Understanding the positive and negative links of adaptation actions with gender equality goals (i.e., SDG 5) is important to ensure that adaptive actions do not exacerbate existing gender-based and other social inequalities (high confidence). Climate literacy varies across diverse communities, compounding vulnerability
TS.D.9.6 Intersectional, gender-responsive and inclusive decision- making can accelerate transformative adaptation over the long term to reduce vulnerability (high confidence). Approaches to adaptation that address the needs of the most disadvantaged, through co-production of knowledge, are more sensitive to diverse community priorities and can yield beneficial climate co-adaptation benefits. There are gender differences in climate literacy in many regions exacerbating vulnerability in agricultural contexts in access to resources and opportunities for climate resilient crops (high confidence).
TS.D.9.7 Local leadership, especially among women and youth, can advance equity within and between generations (medium confidence). Since AR5, social movements, including movements led by youth, Indigenous and ethnic communities, have heightened public awareness about the need for urgent, inclusive action to achieve adaptation that can also enhance well-being and advance climate justice.
TS.D.9.8 Climate justice initiatives that explicitly address multi- dimensional inequalities as part of a climate change adaptation strategy can reduce inequities in access to resources, assets and services as well as participation in decision-making and leadership, and are essential to achieving gender and climate justice (high confidence).
