Politics & Policy
Climate Change Is Happening. We’ve Got to Pay More to Adapt.
World leaders and financiers are signing up to net-zero pledges. But there’s still an urgent need to help the most vulnerable cope with global warming.
It’s happening now. Everywhere.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images EuropeGlobal warming is here and the world is not ready.
The need to adapt to a transforming climate used to be seen as a distraction from the more urgent goal of preventing change. Today, it’s clear adaptation can no longer wait. Floods, droughts, severe hurricanes and a heat dome in the Pacific Northwest this year alone have been a reminder that reality is already expensive and unpredictable, and getting more so. Both mitigation and preparation require attention to avoid increased hunger, insecurity and mass migration.
