Abstract
There is limited knowledge on institutional factors constraining and enabling climate change adaptation in Arctic regions, or the overall readiness of governing bodies and communities to develop, implement, and promote adaptation. This paper examines the preparedness of different levels of government to adapt in the Canadian Arctic territory of Nunavut, drawing upon semi-structured interviews with government personnel and organizations involved in adaptation. In the Government of Nunavut, there have been notable developments around adaptation planning and examples of adaptation champions, but readiness for adaptation is challenged by a number of factors including the existence of pressing socio-economic problems, and institutional and governmental barriers. Federally, there is evidence of high-level leadership on adaptation, the creation of adaptation programs, and allocation of funds for adaptation, although the focus has been mostly on researching adaptation options as opposed to supporting actual actions or policy change. The 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, and increasing emphasis on climate change federally and in the Government of Nunavut, offer opportunities for advancing adaptation, but concrete steps are needed to ensure readiness is enhanced.
Highlights
The Arctic climate is warming at least twice the global average, with projections indicating that Circumpolar regions will see the most rapid climate change globally (Larsen and Anisimov 2014)
We identify and evaluate how adaptation is being integrated into decision-making at different levels of government, and how actors are engaging with adaptation in Nunavut, using this as basis for characterizing readiness to adapt
We note that the insights are broad and inevitably involve some trade-off of breadth for depth, underscoring the need for research focusing on specific dimensions of adaptation readiness; such work is underdeveloped across the Arctic
Summary
The Arctic climate is warming at least twice the global average, with projections indicating that Circumpolar regions will see the most rapid climate change globally (Larsen and Anisimov 2014). We have a growing understanding of opportunities for adaptation in the Circumpolar North, but few studies have focused on the institutional factors constraining or enabling adaptation in the Arctic, or examined the overall willingness and preparedness of governing bodies and communities to develop, implement, and promote adaptation. Responding to this gap, this paper evaluates what is being done to prepare for adaptation in Arctic Canada focusing on the territory of Nunavut, with the aim of informing efforts across scales to advance adaptation planning and identify adaptation needs. The work builds upon scholarship on adaptation readiness which provides a framework for evaluating the process through which adaptation is entering decision-making with respect to overarching factors critical for adaptation taking place
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