Over 900 climate adaptation laws and policies identified across 35 countries, with 75% adopted after the Paris agreement, study finds

Government action on climate adaptation has accelerated in recent years, with “75% of the adaptation-relevant laws and policies adopted since the Paris Agreement in 2015 and 46% since 2020”, according to new research by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.  

The authors identified and analysed 902 adaptation-relevant laws and policies across 35 countries, representing diverse regions, socio-economic contexts, and levels of exposure to climate risks. The report covers countries across East Asia and the Pacific (9); South Asia (4); Europe and Central Asia (4); the Middle East (4); Latin America and the Caribbean (8); Sub-Saharan Africa (5) and North America (1). 

The authors found that 75% of adaptation finance-related laws and policies identified come from 26 Global South countries. Diversification of financial instruments is apparent over time, moving from disaster risk relief funding to market-based private finance mechanisms.

The authors state that “adaptation has become more explicit in overarching multi-sectoral climate change laws and policies, evolving with political priorities. The prominence of adaptation as a national objective is beginning to translate into laws and policies across adaptation-relevant sectors.”  

However, despite around two-thirds of countries assessed under legal obligations to produce a National Adaptation Plan and to conduct risk and vulnerability assessments, the authors find that “compliance, regular updating and transparency on progress are lacking”. The report also finds a persistent lack of disaster risk management laws and policies that meaningfully integrate climate adaptation, particularly on emerging risks like extreme heat. 

The authors make three key policy recommendations for legislators and policymakers, calling for increased investment in public institutions and closer coordination between climate adaptation, disaster risk management and socio-economic development policy. 

Tiffanie Chan, Policy Analyst at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: 

“We have seen a speeding up of government action on adaptation since the Paris Agreement, but that ambition needs to scale up even further as climate impacts intensify. Responsibility to deliver on adaptation must cut across multiple government ministries, national and local.  

“A single extreme weather event can trigger multiple impacts across critical sectors, including health, infrastructure and food systems. Countries around the world need to prioritise a whole-of-government approach to adaptation and mainstream it within public financial management.” 

Sara Mehryar, Research Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said: 

“Adaptation requires addressing both present and future climate risks. Despite growth in adaptation laws and policies over time, we still see a lack of disaster risk management frameworks that meaningfully integrate climate adaptation.  

“It is crucial that we prepare for and invest in prevention of future climate-induced disasters. Governments, legislators and financial institutions must ensure that short-term risk management is clearly linked with long-term climate resilience.” 

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