AdaptNet for 18 May 2010

1. Coastal Inundation at Narrabeen Lagoon – Pittwater, Sydney

2. Technical Primer on Climate Change in the Philippines

3. Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for U.S. Federal Leadership

4. Behavioural Adaptation and the Use of Environmental Controls

5. Adapting Institutions to Climate Change – RCEP Report

6. ANU-Australia Conference: Healthy Climate, Planet and People

Coastal Inundation at Narrabeen Lagoon – Pittwater, Sydney              

The report finds that the Narrabeen catchment (Pittwater region of Sydney) is likely to experience an increased frequency and intensity of storms and rainfall over the coming century. It analyses the benefits and costs of adaptation in response to risks of flood inundation around Narrabeen region. The report employs Monte Carlo analysis to generate probabilities of overall costs and benefits. 

Coastal Inundation at Narrabeen Lagoon – Optimising Adaptation Investment, A Report Prepared by AECOM for the Department of Climate Change, Commonwealth of Australia, 2010 [3.50 MB, PDF]  

Technical Primer on Climate Change in the Philippines     

This report discusses what is expected to happen in the Philippines as climate change progresses, and what appropriate courses of action must be taken to address its adverse effects. In the context of the Philippines, the report addresses: (i) the direct effects of climate change, such as sea level rise, rainfall, public health; and (ii) responding to climate change, including adaptation, responsibility, strategic roles.

Technical Primer on Climate Change in the Philippines, Manila Observatory for the Congressional Commission on Science & Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), COMSTE Conference Engineering Resilience, Confronting Risk Beyond Adaptation, Manila, Philippines, March 2010 [1.24 MB, PDF]  

Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for U.S. Federal Leadership     

This paper examines the role of U.S. federal government in reducing the climate vulnerability and strengthening the resilience of its economy. In so doing, it highlights many adaptation actions that have been taken in other nations (e.g., Australia, UK) as well as at the state level (e.g., California, Florida, Maryland) as potential models for the design of U.S. federal policy for adaptation.  

Adapting to Climate Change: A Call for Federal Leadership, the Report Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, Joel B. Smith et al., Pew Center on Global Climate Change, March 2010 [787 KB, PDF]  

Behavioural Adaptation and the Use of Environmental Controls     

The paper investigates the possible linkage between the use of controls and the thermal comfort of occupants of apartments in Hyderabad, India. It analyses (1) the use of various personal environmental controls, (2) the behavioural adaptation methods undertaken, and (3) the hindrances faced by the occupants in their adaptation efforts. 

Behavioural Adaptation and the Use of Environmental Controls in Summer for Thermal Comfort in Apartments in India, Madhavi Indraganti, Energy and Buildings, 42 (7), pp. 1019-1025, July 2010 [subscription required]    

Adapting Institutions to Climate Change – RCEP Report  

The report explores the challenges facing institutions in adapting to climate change by examining existing institutional arrangements in UK for three exemplar areas: freshwater, biodiversity and nature conservation, and coastal zones. It sets out a framework of key components which it believes must be considered in order to help organisations build resilience to climate change and hence adaptive capacity. 

Adapting Institutions to Climate Change, Twenty-eighth Report, Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP), UK, March 2010 [2.62 MB, PDF]

ANU-Australia Conference: Healthy Climate, Planet and People   

This conference (2010 Australian Academy of Science Fenner Conference on the Environment, ‘Healthy Climate, Planet and People’) will take place on June 23 and 24, 2010 in Canberra, Australia. It will address the health impacts of key climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies – in particular alternate approaches to human mobility, diet, housing, and energy generation. 

2010 Australian Academy of Science Fenner Conference on the Environment, ‘Healthy Climate, Planet and People’, National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health, the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, June 23-24, 2010