About
The iGST Adaptation Working Group (AWG) explored the intersection of adaptation and the global stocktake. They focused on identifying new data and assessment frameworks that are needed to take stock of, and ultimately take action on, climate change adaptation.
Under this banner, the group launched two major research projects ahead of the first Global Stocktake (GST), outlined below. Findings from these projects are synthesized in a 2023 policy brief which reviews expectations for adaptation in the GST, and provided recommendations for moving forward, based on their prior research.
Private Sector Adaptation Reporting
This project explores practical approaches for better integrating data on private sector adaptation into national adaptation accounting and global assessments, including the global stocktake.
The private sector is already a significant actor in climate adaptation, as companies act to protect their operations and supply chains from climate risk – and this will only become more true over time. Yet, there is no common approach for companies to report into national or global reporting frameworks about the actions they are taking to reduce their climate risk, and adapt their operations to a changing climate. This leads to significant data gaps when trying to understand the totality of global adaptation efforts.
This paper maps current private sector reporting pathways, including case studies from voluntary regimes and national aggregation efforts, and offers recommendations to improve these processes.
Clarifying Global Adaptation Goals
The Paris Agreement mandates that the global stocktake will, among other things, “review the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation and support provided for adaptation.”
However, there is not yet agreement on what ‘adequate and effective’ adaptation actually means – a challenge for assessing if the global community is meeting its goals.
This project surfaces a variety of perspectives on how to define the ‘adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation action, and how to assess this in global settings such as the global stocktake.
Previously, the Adaptation Working Group also authored an exploratory report reviewing the official information sources listed for the global stocktake, and what they were likely to be able to say on adaptation. The paper outlines likely data gaps given currently available data, and where independent initiatives such as the iGST could add value.