Documenting the state of adaptation for the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement

Abstract

Article 7, paragraph 14 of the Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change commits Parties to create a five yearly assessment of observed adaptation to track progress and enable appropriate future commitments through the Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans. No large‐scale study exists that shows the types of adaptation, the spatial distribution of types of adaptation, and the numbers of people engaging in that adaptation. To address this gap, and to feed into debates about the modalities for the global stocktake, in this paper we propose a new “stocktaking” approach to document the spectrum and prevalence of observed adaptation over large scales. The four‐step stocktaking approach focuses on: (a) obtaining consensus on the objectives of adaptation; (b) agreeing the sources of evidence; (c) agreeing the search method; and (d) categorizing the adaptations. By focusing on documenting rather than evaluating adaptation, the simple approach avoids some of the adaptation heuristic traps. With guidance to countries on how to operationalize, this approach could improve the transparency of adaptation data collection and analysis, ensure comparability of findings across space and time, and inform the Adaptation Communications (Article 7.10)—a prerequisite to strengthening future ambition commitments within the Paris Agreement. This article is categorized under: Policy and Governance > International Policy Framework Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation

A cross-scale worldwide analysis of coastal adaptation planning

“…For the search, selection and characterisation of adaptation-related policy documents, we follow the four-step stocktaking approach by Tompkins et al (2018). The approach allows room for comparability, interpretability and usability of the results for multiple purposes, identifying four required steps (a) obtaining consensus on the objectives of adaptation; (b) agreeing on the sources of evidence; (c) agreeing the search method; and (d) categorising the adaptations.…”

“…Tracking adaptation is needed to identify who is adapting to what, when, where and why; to understand the efficiency of assigned resources and to adjust adaptation planning given that information , Magnan 2016, Magnan and Ribera 2016, Lesnikowski et al 2017, Tompkins et al 2018. Adaptation tracking and measurement faces numerous challenges.…”

“…Limitations include the ambiguity of the concept of adaptation per se (what can be considered adaptation?) and the lack of comparable, aggregable metrics , Magnan 2016, Tompkins et al 2018. These factors contribute to the messiness of adaptation tracking-related research which is currently characterised by non-robust methodologies and insufficient comparable data sources, leading to a lack of consistent guidance , Biesbroek et al 2018, Tompkins et al 2018.…”

“…and the lack of comparable, aggregable metrics , Magnan 2016, Tompkins et al 2018. These factors contribute to the messiness of adaptation tracking-related research which is currently characterised by non-robust methodologies and insufficient comparable data sources, leading to a lack of consistent guidance , Biesbroek et al 2018, Tompkins et al 2018. This makes it difficult to: (i) develop robust approaches to measure the progress and effectiveness of implemented interventions; (ii) define adequate adaptation monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER) systems; (iii) identify regions of high and low adaptation activity; and, (iv) simulate planned actions providing credible scenarios of successful adaptation.…”

“…Prior to tracking adaptation progress, a reference baseline is needed to stocktake what is actually occurring on the ground (Tompkins et al 2018) so that future efforts of tracking can be adequately sized and compared. Documenting adaptation to create this reference baseline faces the same problems as previously noted (Tompkins et al 2018): lack of methods, lack of reliable and comparable data sources, and lack of an agreed definition of adaptation. Research to date has often delivered selective analysis of adaptation initiatives focusing on certain policy scales, types of adaptations, or world regions.…”