At higher levels 
of warming, losses and damages will increase, and additional human and natural systems will reach adaptation 
limits. Integrated, cross-cutting multi-sectoral solutions increase the effectiveness of adaptation. Maladaptation 
can create lock-ins of vulnerability, exposure and risks but can be avoided by long-term planning and the 
implementation of adaptation actions that are ﬂexible, multi-sectoral and inclusive. (high conﬁdence)
The effectiveness of adaptation to reduce climate risk is documented 
for speciﬁc contexts, sectors and regions and will decrease with 
increasing warming (high conﬁdence)125. For example, common 
adaptation responses in agriculture – adopting improved cultivars and 
agronomic practices, and changes in cropping patterns and crop 
systems – will become less effective from 2°C to higher levels of 
warming (high confidence). The effectiveness of most water-related 
adaptation options to reduce projected risks declines with increasing 
warming (high confidence). Adaptations for hydropower and 
thermo-electric power generation are effective in most regions up to 
1.5°C to 2°C, with decreasing effectiveness at higher levels of warming 
(medium conﬁdence). Ecosystem-based Adaptation is vulnerable to 
climate change impacts, with effectiveness declining with increasing 
global warming (high conﬁdence). Globally, adaptation options related 
to agroforestry and forestry have a sharp decline in effectiveness at 3°C, 
with a substantial increase in residual risk (medium conﬁdence). 
{WGII SPM C.2, WGII SPM C.2.1, WGII SPM C.2.5, WGII SPM C.2.10, 
WGII Figure TS.6 Panel (e), 4.7.2} 
With increasing global warming, more limits to adaptation will be 
reached and losses and damages, strongly concentrated among the 
poorest vulnerable populations, will increase (high conﬁdence). 
Already below 1.5°C, autonomous and evolutionary adaptation 
responses by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems will increasingly 
face hard limits (high conﬁdence) (Section 2.1.2).