Climate policy debates tend to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of climate change. However, climate change is expected to continue even under the most optimistic emission scenarios, inflicting severe damage. Across Europe, increasingly frequent and more severe flooding is causing significant physical damage, while rising temperatures and droughts are leading to severe economic losses for farmers in Europe and around the world. Climate change also threatens the livelihoods of communities in many developing countries, where resilience is already low. Therefore, it is crucial to develop comprehensive adaptation strategies to minimize economic costs, enhance public safety, and address health threats associated with the escalating climate crisis. Yet, adaptation to climate change poses many challenges for policymakers, businesses, and households, due to uncertainty about the extent of climate change, a lack of information on effective adaptation measures, high implementation costs, and long time frames that are difficult to navigate.
