What is climate resilience?

Climate resilience refers to the ability of a system, community, or environment to withstand, adapt, and recover from the impacts of climate change. It encompasses the strategies, practices, and measures that can mitigate the adverse effects of climate-related events, such as extreme weather, flooding, droughts, and rising sea levels.

Being resilient includes not only bouncing back after a climate event but also adapting to new conditions by strengthening infrastructure, enhancing ecosystem health, and improving community preparedness. This can involve developing better flood defenses, implementing sustainable agricultural practices, and advancing public policies that support long-term adaptation goals.

The other choices focus on aspects that are related but do not capture the full scope of what climate resilience entails. For instance, the ability to predict climate changes is valuable but does not directly engage with the mechanisms of coping with those changes. Reducing carbon footprints and increasing greenhouse gas emissions pertain to mitigation strategies rather than resilience, as they do not address how one would deal with the effects of climate change that are already being experienced. Thus, the most comprehensive definition that captures the essence of adapting to and recovering from climate change is indeed the ability to withstand and recover from its impacts.