Aligned to Paris Agreement Global Goal on Adaptation

The Paris Agreement established the global goal of adaptation (GGA), as articulated in Article 7. This requires parties to work towards enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change impacts. However, the Paris Agreement does not establish any obligatory reporting to demonstrate progress. Article 7.11 established the Adaptation Communication; a voluntary reporting mechanism, which can be submitted as a section of a Party’s NDC.

At COP28, Parties adopted the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, as part of the UAE Consensus, which outlined 11 specific targets. These targets aim to bolster global climate resilience by addressing water scarcity, food security, health impacts, ecosystem conservation, infrastructure resilience, poverty eradication and livelihoods, and cultural heritage preservation. The framework emphasizes inclusive planning, implementation, and monitoring processes, along with mobilizing financial resources, fostering international cooperation, and integrating traditional knowledge. These targets are voluntary but are designed to provide countries with a framework for achieving the GGA. CMA 5 invited Parties to voluntarily include the Framework’s quantitative and/or qualitative targets and cross-cutting considerations in their adaptation communications, biennial transparency reports, national adaptation plans, national communications, and Nationally Determined Contributions.

CMA5 also established the two-year UAE-Belém work program to identify and develop adaptation indicators and methodologies to measure progress towards the targets adopted regarding the GGA.  This program will help inform how Parties choose to present their adaptation progress, good practices, experiences, and lessons learned in implementing the UAE Framework, as part of their NDCs and other reports.

Article 7.9 of the Paris Agreement requires that “Each Party shall, as appropriate, engage in adaptation planning processes and the implementation of actions, including the development or enhancement of relevant plans, policies and/or contributions”, although the development and implementation of national adaptation plans (NAPs) are not explicitly required. Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement states that “Developed country Parties shall provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties with respect to both mitigation and adaptation in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention.”, as does the enhancement of adaptation efforts in response to the outcomes of the Global Stocktake, as set out in Article 14.

Following the first Global Stocktake, countries are required to reflect on its outcomes and recommendations in their NDC 3.0 (as per Article 4.9 of the Paris Agreement). With regard to adaptation, the GST “Recognizes the increasing adaptation planning and implementation efforts being undertaken by Parties towards enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability, as set out in national adaptation plans, adaptation communications and Nationally Determined Contributions, as appropriate” (Paragraph 44). It also recognizes the “significant efforts of developing country Parties in formulating and implementing national adaptation plans, adaptation communications and nationally determined contributions, as appropriate, through their domestic expenditure, as well as their increased efforts to align their national development plans” (Paragraph 45). Paragraph 44 “welcomes that 51 Parties have submitted national adaptation plans and 62 Parties have submitted adaptation communications to date”, demonstrating the ambition of country Parties to act on adaptation as these reporting mechanisms are voluntary.

The GST emphasises the need for comprehensive and holistic approaches to address climate impacts and adaptation gaps, highlighting two areas:

1. Paragraph 55: “Encourages the implementation of integrated, multi-sectoral solutions, such as land-use management, sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches, and protecting, conserving and restoring nature and ecosystems, including forests, mountains and other terrestrial and marine and coastal ecosystems, which may offer economic, social and environmental benefits such as improved resilience and well-being, and that adaptation can contribute to mitigating impacts and losses, as part of a country-driven gender-responsive and participatory approach, building on the best available science as well as Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge and local knowledge systems”
2. Paragraph 49: “Acknowledges that establishing and improving national inventories of climate impacts over time and building accessible, user-driven climate services systems, including early warning systems, can strengthen the implementation of adaptation actions, and recognizes that one third of the world does not have access to early warning and climate information services, as well as the need to enhance coordination of activities by the systematic observation community”.

The GST stresses “the importance of global solidarity in undertaking adaptation effortsincluding long-term transformational and incremental adaptation, towards reducing vulnerability and enhancing adaptive capacity” (Paragraph 61) and “the importance of the iterative adaptation cycle for building adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability” (Paragraph 54). It “calls on Parties that have not yet done so to have in place their national adaptation plans, policies and planning processes by 2025 and to have progressed implementing them by 2030” (Paragraph 59) and stressed that “such efforts should be inclusive…taking into account the best available science and the worldviews and values of Indigenous Peoples to support achievement of the global goal on adaptation” (Paragraph 61).

In summary, the GST reflects the urgency for adaptation, particularly in reference to closing the adaptation gap. This includes adopting the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience,which sets out 11 targets to be achieved by 2030, (paragraph 16) “invites parties to voluntarily include…quantitative and/or qualitative information related to the targets…and the cross-cutting considerations” in their national reporting. The GST also reflects key elements such asemphasizing inclusive and country-driven approaches and mobilizing adequate means of implementation,including finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building. The importance of international cooperation, stakeholder engagement, and robust review mechanisms to track progress and address challenges is also highlighted by the GST, underscoring the collective responsibility to address climate risks.