Towards enhancing adaptive capacity for climate change response in South East Queensland

Abstract

Discussion of climate change adaptation is gaining increased prominence in sustainability policy and the academic literature. A key factor in the selection of climate adaptation initiatives is the understanding of vulnerability. However, past approaches to understanding climate change vulnerability have largely focused on assessments of exposure (e.g., change in temperature), to the exclusion of assessments of sensitivity (e.g., regions with an aging population) or adaptive capacity (e.g., the ability to implement adaptation initiatives). The authors argue that an understanding of adaptive capacity is critical to inform climate change vulnerability and to help prioritise climate change adaptation initiatives. The authors propose an approach to understand adaptive capacity, which is currently being applied in South East Queensland.