Climate-Change Risk Management Analyzed

Policies to avoid, prepare for, and recover from extreme weather and climate disasters such as floods and heat waves can reduce the impacts of these events, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says in a report released last week. “We know enough to make good decisions about managing the risks of climate-related disasters. Sometimes we take advantage of this knowledge, but many times we do not,” says Christopher B. Field of the Carnegie Institution for Science and cochair of the IPCC working group on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability to climate. The report says managing the risks of extreme events is a way to advance adaptation to human-caused climate change. The report lays out likely impacts of climate change during the 21st century that policymakers can start preparing for now. For instance, the frequency of heavy rains or snowfalls is likely to increase, as is the amount of annual precipitation delivered during heavy rain- or snowfalls. Meanwhile, the report says droughts are projected to increase in intensity and duration in some regions of the world.