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Nature 445, 597-598 (8 February 2007) | doi:10.1038/445597a; Published online 7 February 2007

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Climate change 2007: Lifting the taboo on adaptation

Roger Pielke, Jr1, Gwyn Prins2, Steve Rayner3 & Daniel Sarewitz4

  1. Roger Pielke, Jr, is at the University of Colorado.
  2. Gwyn Prins is at the London School of Economics and Columbia University.
  3. Steve Rayner is at Oxford University's James Martin Institute.
  4. Daniel Sarewitz is at Arizona State University.

Correspondence to: Daniel Sarewitz4 Email: pielke@colorado.edu

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Renewed attention to policies for adapting to climate change cannot come too soon for Roger Pielke, Jr, Gwyn Prins, Steve Rayner and Daniel Sarewitz.

During the early policy discussions on climate change in the 1980s, adaptation was understood to be an important option for society. Yet for much of the past two decades the mere idea of adapting to climate change became problematic for those advocating emissions reductions, and was treated "with the same distaste that the religious right reserves for sex education in schools.