GreenFacts Summary Level of Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns by Region

Full text version
Source & © : IPCC TAR SPM of WG II pages 14-17

Africa
Asia
Australia and New Zealand
Europe
Latin America
North America
Polar Regions
Small Island States

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in Africa

Adaptive capacity of human systems in Africa is low due to lack of economic resources and technology, and vulnerability high as a result of heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, frequent droughts and floods, and poverty.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in Asia

Adaptive capacity of human systems is low and vulnerability is high in the developing countries of Asia; the developed countries of Asia are more able to adapt and less vulnerable.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in Australia and New Zealand

Adaptive capacity of human systems is generally high, but there are groups in Australia and New Zealand, such as indigenous peoples in some regions, with low capacity to adapt and consequently high vulnerability.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in Europe

Adaptive capacity is generally high in Europe for human systems; southern Europe and the European Arctic are more vulnerable than other parts of Europe.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in Latin America

Adaptive capacity of human systems in Latin America is low, particularly with respect to extreme climate events, and vulnerability is high.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in North America

Adaptive capacity of human systems is generally high and vulnerability low in North America, but some communities (e.g., indigenous peoples and those dependent on climate-sensitive resources) are more vulnerable; social, economic, and demographic trends are changing vulnerabilities in subregions.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in the Polar Regions

Natural systems in polar regions are highly vulnerable to climate change and current ecosystems have low adaptive capacity; technologically developed communities are likely to adapt readily to climate change, but some indigenous communities, in which traditional lifestyles are followed, have little capacity and few options for adaptation.
Polar regions contain important drivers of climate change. Once triggered, they may continue for centuries, long after greenhouse gas concentrations are stabilized, and cause irreversible impacts on ice sheets, global ocean circulation, and sea-level rise.

Full IPCC text

Adaptive Capacity, Vulnerability, and Key Concerns in the Small Island States

Adaptive capacity of human systems is generally low in small island states, and vulnerability high; small island states are likely to be among the countries most seriously impacted by climate change.

Full IPCC text