The impact of climate change on Arctic communities is so great that it limits their ability to adapt, or at least that’s what has long been assumed. But according to a recent study in Nature Climate Change, it’s non-climatic factors that obstruct adaptation. For those communities who struggle with adapting, the hurdles they face are unrelated to climate change. Instead, outside pressures, such as outdated land management practices, bureaucratic regulatory processes, limited education and marginalization curb the ability of these communities to adapt to the effects of climate change.