Adaptation Two-fers
Combination of adaptation and mitigation strategies, which benefit from one another
Many states have developed climate change action plans that include both mitigation and adaptation recommendations. In 2009, Maine started integrating adaptation recommendations into their mitigation activities. Since 2004, Maine has recognized the need to address climate change and developed the Maine Climate Action Plan with the goal of reducing greenhouse gases. In 2009, the Legislature directed the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop adaptation recommendations to build on Maine’s Climate Future report, which evaluated past change over geological time and concluded that regardless of the elimination of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will continue for many decades. In response, DEP brought together a wide range of stakeholders across all sectors to develop climate change adaptation strategies and recommendations to the legislature, which resulted in the People and Nature Adapting to a Changing Climate: Charting Maine’s Course report. The report includes over 60 recommendations across many sectors and systems including coastal ecosystems, public health, invasive species, transportation systems, and agriculture. Recommendations were derived under 7 main themes:
- Climate change affects everyone
- Some of our communities and neighbors are at more risk
- There are actions worth taking now
- We depend on natural systems
- Not all change is bad
- We need to work together and at the right scales
- We must maintain momentum
- It recognizes that mitigation alone is not enough to provide solutions and prioritizes the need for adaptation actions.