Can We Adapt to Climate Change in the Canadian Arctic?

The Arctic's climate is changing rapidly, to the extent that 'dangerous' climate change as defined by the United Nations Framework on Climate Change might already be occurring. These changes are having implications for Canada's Inuit population and are being exacerbated by the dependence of Inuit on biophysical resources for livelihoods and the low socio-economic health status of many northern communities. In the context of projections of a rapidly changing climate in the future, this paper asks the question: Can we adapt to climate change in the Canadian Arctic? Drawing upon community-based vulnerability assessments in all Inuit regions of Canada and extensive interviews with policy makers at multiple levels, it is argued that many of the determinants of Inuit vulnerability represent barriers to adaptation which can be addressed with the right policy support mechanisms. Nevertheless, limits to adaptation are also evident for which there few policies beyond slowing down climate change through mitigation that can help moderate impacts.