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Learning to adapt: organisational adaptation to climate change impacts

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 20:33 authored by Frans Berkhout, Julia Hertin, David Gann
Analysis of human adaptation to climate change should be based on realistic models of adaptive behaviour at the level of organisations and individuals. The paper sets out a framework for analysing adaptation to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change in business organisations with new evidence presented from empirical research into adaptation in nine case-study companies. It argues that adaptation to climate change has many similarities with processes of organisational learning. The paper suggests that business organisations face a number of obstacles in learning how to adapt to climate change impacts, especially in relation to the weakness and ambiguity of signals about climate change and the uncertainty about benefits flowing from adaptation measures. Organisations rarely adapt `autonomously', since their adaptive behaviour is influenced by policy and market conditions, and draws on resources external to the organisation. The paper identifies four adaptation strategies that pattern organisational adaptive behaviour

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Climatic Change

ISSN

0165-0009

Publisher

Springer Verlag

Issue

1

Volume

78

Page range

135-156

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-01-31

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    University of Sussex (Publications)

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