What weakness of adaptation does the author identify?
Debates about climate change are sometimes framed as a contest between cutting emissions and adapting to a warmer world. Advocates of adaptation say that it is practical: sea walls, drought-resistant crops and better early warnings help real people now. Advocates of prevention say that adapting without cutting emissions merely postpones the problem. Each is right about the other's weakness and wrong about its own indispensability. Adaptation cannot cope with unlimited warming; some changes, such as the loss of coral reefs, cannot be adapted to at all. But prevention will not undo the warming that is already locked in. A sensible policy treats the two as complements, with attention to which dollar spent on either does more good at the margin.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. It cannot cope with unlimited warming, and some changes cannot be adapted to at all
- Step 1: The passage says adaptation cannot cope with unlimited warming, giving the loss of coral reefs.
- Step 2: The only choice consistent with this is "It cannot cope with unlimited warming, and some changes cannot be adapted to at all".
Answer
It cannot cope with unlimited warming, and some changes cannot be adapted to at all.
Why not the others: Cost, geography, technology and unnecessary prevention are not mentioned.
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