First, climate change is a global problem that affects both current and future generations, and responses must be sensitive to both spatial and temporal consequences

First, climate change is a global problem that affects both current and future generations, and responses must be sensitive to both spatial and temporal consequences. Climate Change adaptation taken to benefit one sector or group may undermine the security and well-being of others, such as by influencing resource access and the integrity of ecosystems that many people depend upon for their livelihoods. Second, widespread poverty makes many individuals, households, communities and cities vulnerable to even small shocks and stressors. The tendency of poor people to be highly vulnerable to climate change is often used as a justification for implementing adaptation; however, whether or not the proposed adaptation measures will actually assist poor groups is seldom assessed. An underlying premise for the concept of sustainable adaptation is that many responses to climate change will create social and environmental externalities, including trade-offs and negative consequences. Sustainable adaptation thus considers the wider effects of adaptive responses on other groups, places and socio-ecological systems, both in the present and in the future.