As the climate changes, society will have to keep up. What adaptations will we need to make, and what progress has been made already?

How do we bounce forward, rather than just bouncing back? How do we use this pressure to go even better?” asks Dr Juan Pablo Orjuela, a transport researcher at the University of Oxford.

The effects of climate change are well and truly here. Last year we saw global temperature records tumble, wildfires rage, and torrential storms batter nations. Addressing the root causes of climate change is, of course, essential to guarantee a liveable future for the planet. But even in the best-case scenario, where we keep temperatures at no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a certain amount of climate change is now baked in because of the emissions already released.

So, we will need to adapt. For Orjuela, this is not just a challenge but also an opportunity to make systems work better. The trouble is that, despite the obvious importance of adapting to climate...