Climate change adaptation
Adaptation to climate change refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.
In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) was held in Rio de Janeiro and resulted in the establishment of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in which nations agreed to explore further the causes and effects of global warming and how to limit and cope with its impacts. In 1995, the first Conference of the Parties (COP), the framework for the climate change negotiations, was launched to strengthen the emission reduction provisions of the Convention. Two years later in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted which legally binds the developed countries to reduce carbon emissions. Since then, the Conference of the Parties (COP) has resulted in further provisions, but many of these are non-binding, and the climate change challenge remains.
At COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement builds upon the Convention and – for the first time – brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort.
Source(s):
United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Climate Change Adaptation for Natural World Heritage Sites – A Practical Guide