How much adaptation: Are existing policy and institutions enough?

This chapter considers how well existing institutions and policy processes might be used to fashion adaptation to climate change. There are three parts to that question: 1. The general capacity of the policy processes and institutions in a given jurisdiction (local, sub-national, national), which would define the ability to handle any future challenge. 2. The priority that is placed on climate adaptation relative to the myriad other policy problems. Some believe that climate adaptation is a higher-order challenge, whereas others would give other issues greater priority. What makes something more important politically than something else is a substantive and normative discussion not possible here. 3. The degree to which, within the general policy and institutional capacities at (1) and the priority afforded at (2), climate adaptation represents a tractableor more difficult challenge to public policy and the implementation of financial, legal, and behavioural measures to enhance adaptation.