Assessing the feasibility of adaptation options: methodological advancements and directions for climate adaptation research and practice

Abstract

The Paris Agreement put adaptation prominently on the global climate action agenda. Despite a surge in research and praxis-based knowledge on adaptation, a critical policy roadblock is synthesizing and assessing this burgeoning evidence. We develop an approach to assess the multidimensional feasibility of adaptation options in a robust and transparent manner, providing direction for global climate policy and identifying knowledge gaps to further future climate research. The approach, which was tested in the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 °C (SR1.5) to assess 23 adaptation options, is underpinned by a systematic review of recent literature, expert elicitation, and iterative peer review. It responds to the challenge of limited agreement on adaptation indicators, lack of fine-scale adaptation data, and challenges of assessing synergies and trade-offs with mitigation. The findings offer methodological insights into how future assessments such as the IPCC Assessment Report (AR) six and regional, national, and sectoral assessment exercises could assess adaptation feasibility and synthesize the growing body of knowledge on climate change adaptation.

Selecting and analysing climate change adaptation measures at six research sites across Europe

“…It adds a new functionality to roads that fall outside the responsibility of the road authorities and thus require coordination between different municipal authorities, an example of fragmented governance (Dhakal and Chevalier, 2017). Also, the broader impact on public safety when running water with high velocity through the streets needs to be assessed (Skrede et al, 2020).…”

Avoiding climate Apartheid: Climate Justice as a Necessary Condition for Equitable Transformational Adaptation

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Climate change governance in agroforestry systems: a systematic review

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