The rapid pace at which the climate change agenda is permeating wide-ranging arenas of established development practice and theory leaves little space and time for reflection on the implications this has for learning across agendas and literatures. 'Adaptation' is a term that is increasingly reserved for processes that build the resilience of households, communities and sectors to changes in the climate. But, adaptation always has, and arguably always should, refer to more than just responses to climate change. Reflections here make the case for climate change enthusiasts to engage with a broader agenda concerning how to enable poor and vulnerable people to move out of poverty and vulnerability. The authors focus on livelihood diversification as one possible adaptation strategy, and whether diversification as a climate adaptation option looks different from a poverty reduction option. [adapted from author]