Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
BOX 3
Relating Adaptation And Mitigation
Built infrastructures are among the most salient of
all cases where climate change responses touch on
both adaptation and mitigation, because the infra-
structures usually have direct connections with
both reducing vulnerabilities to climate change
and with emissions of greenhouse gases that are a
cause of climate change. Especially prominent ex-
amples include energy, transportation, industry,
and building infrastructures.
In these cases, there are opportunities to ex-
plore synergies between adaptation and miti-
gation in considering infrastructure designs,
operations, and overall strategies - as contrasted
with adverse effects of one focus on the other. It is
very useful, when actions related to mitigation are
being considered, to ask: what are the effects on
adaptation? And the converse.
In many cases, because the answers are not
always perfectly clear, it is useful to consider in-
corporating monitoring and evaluation elements
in an infrastructure development strategy in
order to learn from experience about effects and
how to enhance positive outcomes. Such an ap-
proach, related to iterative learning, benefits from
infrastructure strategies that are innovative in that
they are flexible, able to adjust to new information
about emerging climate change impacts and expe-
rience about payoffs from alternative responses.
In discussions of these kinds of issues, a ma-
jor gap in the availability of information about
both options and current activities is an inability
to track what is happening in the private sector,
where many strategies and actions are related
to perceptions of competitive advantage in the
marketplace. It would be valuable to stimulate
discussions with private sector institutions and
the associations that represent them to find ways
to assure that the continuing national climate
change impact and response assessment process
is informed, at least in a general way, about this
extremely important part of the bigger national
picture.
driving at all. Communities that avoid building new infrastructure for far-
flung, disconnected developments can use their limited funding instead to keep
existing infrastructure in good repair. In addition, shorter water pipes mean less
drinking water lost to leaks, which will become even more important as water
supplies become strained.
• Communities with a mix of land uses and multiple transportation options,
including public transit and streets that are safe for walking and biking, can help
residents drive less, which reduces GHG emissions. Street networks laid out in a
grid patern reduce congestion by giving drivers alternate routes, which reduces
time spent idling. Co-benefits include health benefits from reduced air pollution
and from increased physical activity.
• Energy- and water-efficient buildings also reduce GHG emissions, but they also
are important for adapting to the changing climate. In a heat wave, fewer people
might die if it were more affordable to cool their homes. Homes with water-
efficient fixtures help reduce pressure on water supplies in a drought.
 
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