Incremental, transitional and transformational adaptation to climate change in resource extraction regions

• Published in: Global sustainability Vol. 2
• Main Authors: Loginova, Julia, Batterbury, Simon P.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2019
• Subjects: Adaptation; Adaptation and mitigation; Climate adaptation; Climate change; Community; Environmental economics; Greenhouse effect; Hydrocarbons; Industrial activities; Mining; Mining industry; Policies; Political activism; Political economy; politics and governance; Regions; Society; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Weather
• ISSN: 2059-4798; 2059-4798
• DOI: 10.1017/sus.2019.14

Non-technical summary Mining regions are affected by climate change. Supplies of energy and water are required, and operations become hazardous during adverse weather events. Adapting to climate change takes three forms: incrementally improving the resilience of mining operations; transitioning to more inclusive governance through institutional and policy innovations; and more profound transformations that shift the balance of power, including profit-sharing, localized control or cessation of mining entirely. Clarifying adaptation pathways helps to identify priorities and inform policies for a fairer and more sustainable future for mining and the regions where it takes place. Technical summary Mining regions are strategically important in the response to climate change given advances in global governance and shifting risks at extraction sites. There are sustainability and justice considerations that offer critical lessons for the design of climate change adaptation in these regions. This article systematically reviews and evaluates the social and interdisciplinary science literature on adaptation to climate change in mining regions in order to identify the goals and scale of proposed solutions, their shortcomings and possible learning opportunities. The review employs a framework of adaptation pathways that distinguishes between incremental, transitional and transformational adaptation. In this way, it contributes to the growing literature on resource extraction and climate change adaptation by providing further understanding of how adaptation in mining regions can and does occur. The review finds a lack of clarity in how adaptive responses and behaviours are framed. Conceptual lenses need to be multi-scalar, dynamic and polycentric, with more empirical and practical work to identify how to enable adaptation in mining regions, not only through deploying technology, but also through better governance practices and more egalitarian power structures.