The role of accounting in supporting adaptation to climate change Martina K. Linnenluecke, Jacqueline Birt and Andrew Griffiths UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia Abstract The study is one of the first concerned with the topic of accounting and climate change adaptation. It proposes that the accounting role can support organ- isational climate change adaptation by performing the following functions: (i) a risk assessment function (assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity), (ii) a valuation function (valuing adaptation costs and benefits) and (iii) a disclosure function (disclosure of risk associated with climate change impacts). This study synthesises and expands on existing research and practice in environmental accounting and sets the scene for future research and practice in the emerging area of accounting for climate risk. Key words: Accounting; Adaptation; Climate change JEL classification: M14, M41 doi: 10.1111/acfi.12120 Introduction The recently released 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has sent a clear message: Human interference with the climate system is occurring, and climate change poses severe risks for human and natural systems. Many impacts are already observable. The atmosphere and ocean have markedly warmed since the 1950s, the amounts of ice and snow have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased (IPCC, 2014). The scientific evidence points to the need to respond to the threats posed by climate change across businesses, industry and society (Linnenluecke and Griffiths, 2010; Surminski, 2013), and to adapt to those changes that will occur even if greenhouse gas emissions were stopped immediately. Adapta- tion to climate change can be defined as ‘the process of adjustment to actual Received 28 January 2015; accepted 5 March 2015 by Kathy Walsh (Editor). © 2015 AFAANZ Accounting and Finance