Mind the Gap: Knowledge and Need in Regulating Adaptation to Climate Change

If successful adaptation to climate change is to take place, regulatory and
institutional frameworks must provide incentives and reduce barriers to adaptation. This article discusses five distinct dimensions of designing regulatory
schemes that promote adaptation-action, regulatory invasiveness, governance,
financing and participation-and suggests some underlying qualities structuring
each dimension. Through comparative analysis of emerging regulatory schemes
governing adaptation in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, it
assesses both progress and gaps in each of these dimensions as well as
underlying similarities and differences in these countries' responses. The article
concludes that although some progress has been achieved in regulating adaptation, legal and institutional infrastructures remain ill-equipped to effectively
address the needs that may arise from the impacts of a changing climate, even in
those countries that have made genuine efforts to address these issues. Further
regulatory enhancement and reform will be required to lead the way to successful
adaptation to climate change.