Is climate adaptation just "planning with a climate sticker"? Or does it reveal the uncomfortable truth about who gets left behind?

In this episode, Professor Lisa Schipper : one of the leading voices challenging how we think about climate adaptation, dismantles the buzzwords and exposes why vulnerability, power, and justice are inseparable from the climate conversation.

Time Stamps

01:10 – Introduction & How Lisa Got Into Climate Adaptation

03:22 – What Is Climate Adaptation? (And How Is It Different From Regular Planning?)

06:44 – Mainstreaming: The Double-Edged Sword

10:04 – Adaptation in Practice: From Drip Irrigation to Forced Relocation

13:30 – How Do We Know If Adaptation Has Actually Happened?

16:08 – Quick-Fire Questions: Temperature, Tipping Points & Social Collapse

19:50 – Adaptation vs. Civilizational Change: Mesopotamia, Migration & Fewer Options

25:12 – The Vulnerability Trap: Why Technology Won't Save Everyone

29:30 – Coastal Adaptation: Sea Walls, Power Grabs & The Infrastructure Trap

We dive deep into:

👉🏻 Why adaptation is the "forgotten sibling" of climate policy — and why it matters more than ever

👉🏻 The mainstreaming paradox: does integrating climate into planning make it invisible?

👉🏻 Real-world adaptation: drip irrigation in drylands vs. watching your house fall into the sea

👉🏻 Why social tipping points may hit before physical ones — and why that terrifies her

👉🏻 The uncomfortable reality: adaptation has limits, and we're not honest about who gets sacrificed

👉🏻 How coastal "protection" narratives get weaponized to seize land from the poor

Lisa Schipper doesn't do false optimism. She challenges the technocratic fantasy that we can engineer our way out and insists we confront poverty, power, and injustice head-on. Whether you're a policymaker, practitioner, or concerned citizen, this is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand what adaptation actually looks like on the ground.

This is Part One of our conversation.

🎙️ Host: Alberto Troccoli | Let's Communicate

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📅 Episode recorded on 17/04/2026

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