Abstract
Scientific opinion is now agreed that global temperatures are likely to continue to rise with related weather patterns and extreme events. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is emphasized in its Fifth Assessment Report, that climate change impact is unequivocal. Climate change not only creates new development challenges, but it also exacerbates existing challenges and threats such as poverty, loss of livelihoods, and competition over scarce natural resources. Therefore, Jordan as one of the driest countries in the world, and water scarcity affects every aspect of Jordanian life, this will be the greatest challenge to economic growth and development. Climate change will multiply the threat, exacerbating existing water problems and other problems such as scarcity of agricultural land, and high temperatures. With climate change, the environmental, political, economic, and social situation will become more difficult for Jordan. Jordan has adopted many wide-ranging and sector-specific climate adaptation policies, particularly in water and energy sectors. While mitigation strategies are widely applied, such as rationalizing energy consumption; improving energy efficiency; promoting renewable energy development. However, Jordan’s priority in climate action is adaptation rather than mitigation, because Jordan is a small emitter of greenhouse gases while facing high climate risks. While scientific evidence supports the need to integrate climate change expectations into existing planning and implementation, adaptation to climate change is only starting to emerge in Jordan. This research will discover to what extent is climate change considered an issue for planning in Jordan and What is delaying, hindering, or stopping the climate change adaptation in Jordan and what is their impact. By employing ethnographic research to identifying the socio-material barriers affecting climate change adaptation processes at the municipal scale (Amman, Irbid, Aqaba, and Al-Karak). Document review and case study (interviews and observation) will be used. The specific aims of this research are threefold: 1) Improve the understanding of the social-material context of adaptation and thinking about the importance of these barriers by looking at their impact on adaptation measures.2) Identify the adaptation barriers faced by the municipalities in Jordan. 3) Draw lessons about the adaptation process and the importance of adaptation barriers to the scientific community in terms of future research priorities and for policymakers and urban planners.
