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The election of a climate-denier as United States President has left many people disillusioned and anxious about the future of climate action. Is the game up? With the prospect of environmental policies being rolled back and a leader who openly rejects the science of climate, there’s a very real risk that many will simply give up. The overwhelming sense of inevitability may lead to a fatalistic resignation: if the government won’t act, why should we?

However, such giving up would be disastrous: and is not called for. What is called for is a pivot. This is exactly the moment when we need to pivot toward a more pragmatic and resilient strategy, one that can be done pretty effectively bottom-up, one that needs to be done now no matter what—one centring climate adaptation. Meaning: a strategy that places preparedness for and resilience against impacts front and centre. Instead of being paralyzed by inaction at the top, we must focus more on what can be done at the grassroots level, both at home and abroad. Climate decline is no longer a future threat—it’s already here, and it’s already happening. Adaptation is not just necessary; centring it is the only viable path forward.

To be very clear: this is not giving up on climate ‘mitigation’. Far from it. What we are talking about is a kind of adaptation that includes decarbonisation organically within it. And moreover what we are talking about is a strategy that will act as a ‘mindbomb’, as adaptation talk and adaptation-action explodes inside people’s reality. When adaptation is taken seriously, then by definition we are believing in the emergency, because adaptation is here and now. Once people are really starting to act as if the crisis is real, then momentum can grow again for decarbonisation. Momentum which otherwise has, we have to plainly admit, very badly stalled, and even gone into reverse.

In Spring 2025, the Climate Majority Project will launch the ‘SAFER’ campaign. At the heart of the SAFER campaign ( https://climatemajorityproject.com/SAFER/ ) is a fundamental shift in the climate narrative: a pivot towards a strategy centring climate adaptation of a strategic and transformative kind. As already noted, this approach is critical, not only in addressing the inevitable impacts of climate breakdown but also in reinforcing broader climate action efforts. Adaptation needs to be integrated into every conversation and strategy, from policy frameworks to everyday choices. And if it is done so, then there will be an unexpected beneficiary…

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