Climate resilience
The capacity to cope with climate-related disturbances while maintaining or adapting essential functions.
Example
Communities can improve preparedness through infrastructure, institutions and accessible information.
The catch
Resilience for one group can conceal continuing vulnerability elsewhere.
In more depth
Climate resilience, explained.
Climate resilience depends as much on people and systems as on concrete. A resilient town can absorb a shock, recover quickly and change so the next one hurts less, which means backup power and spare capacity matter alongside flood walls. Social ties count as well. During heatwaves, isolated older people face the highest risk, and schemes in which neighbours or volunteers check on them can reduce deaths.
The IPCC's idea of climate resilient development joins climate adaptation and emission cuts to wider development goals, a reminder that resilience means more than bouncing back to the same exposed position. Treat the word with care when it is used to ask communities to absorb harms that others could prevent.