Call for Papers: Adapting to Climate Change

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Article Series on Adapting to Climate Change

On Earth Day (April 22, 2013), ASP hosted an event on the importance of climate adaptation at the local and national level. The discussion featured Jan Ahlen, the Government Relations Representative of the National Farmers Union, who discussed the need for climate adaptation in agriculture and Andrew Holland, ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate on the implications of climate adaptation for national security. A discussion followed that focused on how governments can incentivize adaptation –and how government policies can create both good and bad outcomes.

Climate change presents real threats to homeland security. Cities and communities along the coasts are most vulnerable to rising sea levels, coastal storms surges, and even sinking land. These threats are already happening – this is not a hypothetical. However, we should not simply believe that climate change is a threat along the coasts: drought and water shortages throughout the American Midwest and Southwest threaten the agricultural basis of these areas; new diseases threaten to spread widely; and our economic well-being is threatened by ever-increasing extreme events.

The American Security Project will publish a series of articles, edited and curated by ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate Policy, in a leading national outlet in order to examine adaptation at the local and national level. This series of articles, by noted research scholars from around the world, will present lessons-learned and a way forward on how to adapt to climate change. This series will draw on expertise from members of the Emerging Leaders in Environmental and Energy Policy Network (ELEEP) and other noted experts.

We anticipate a volume of approximately 8-10 articles. These will be journalistic (not academic) in style, on a topic that should be relevant to policymakers, and a length that is appropriate for online reading (700-1000 words).

Adapting to climate change is not surrendering to the inevitable climate change – instead it is a critical part of risk management. With proper planning, we can build infrastructure, shape policy, and adapt institutions so that both or physical structures and – more importantly – our societies are resilient to the threats of the 21^st Century.

For more details, or to submit an article, email Andrew Holland, ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate here.