Higher temperatures, more devastating fires, fiercer storms, unpredictable rainfall: the urgency is clear. Mitigating climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humankind. Failure to do so will result in catastrophic impacts on people and the planet. Those who contributed least to the problem – especially people living in poverty and fragile areas – are most at risk. While some countries and communities are not yet feeling the full effects of global warming, others have been desperately adapting to a new reality for some time. Adaptation is not an alternative to the effort to prevent climate change, but an essential complement to it.
