Rethinking Distance in Climate Adaptation

The document argues that climate adaptation is not merely a technical challenge but a human one, requiring empathy and imagination to value losses that are geographically or personally distant. The author contends that preserving global environmental and cultural heritage is essential for human experience and that recognizing the intrinsic value of nature—beyond practical cost-benefit analyses—is critical for successful collective action against climate change.

• Successful climate change mitigation requires mankind to overcome the psychological hurdle of valuing things and places that individuals may never personally experience or enjoy.
• The motivation for climate action should include both the practical need for self-preservation (such as food security and protection from storms) and the intrinsic value of the environment for its own sake.
• Environmental loss entails the disappearance of intangible ecological, social, and cultural meanings, including unique worldviews encoded in languages and traditional knowledge that cannot be captured by artificial intelligence.
• The author suggests that individual engagement with a specific distant language, species, or place can help reduce the perceived distance of the climate crisis and foster broader care.

APA

Lange, P. (2025). Rethinking Distance in Climate Adaptation. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/rethinking-distance-in-climate-adaptation/

Chicago

Lange, Peter. Rethinking Distance in Climate Adaptation. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/rethinking-distance-in-climate-adaptation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lange |first1=Peter |title=Rethinking Distance in Climate Adaptation |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2 July 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/rethinking-distance-in-climate-adaptation/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lange2025rethinking, author = {Lange, Peter}, title = {{Rethinking Distance in Climate Adaptation}}, publisher = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/rethinking-distance-in-climate-adaptation/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }