A three-round survey of climate change adaptation experts — researchers and practitioners from across the globe — reveals that there is broad agreement on 13 elements that are foundational for defining transformational adaptation to climate risks. Nevertheless, there are differences between response groups on which aspects of transformational adaptation matter the most.
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References
IPCC: Summary for Policymakers. In Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (eds Pörtner, H.-O. et al.) 3–33 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2022). This report states the importance of transformational adaptation, maps the current state of transformational adaptation and demonstrates the challenges of achieving it.
Kates, R. W., Travis, W. R. & Wilbanks, T. J. Transformational adaptation when incremental adaptations to climate change are insufficient. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 7156–7161 (2012). This paper demonstrates the necessity of transformational adaptation as an alternative to incremental adaptation.
Fedele, G., Donatti, C. I., Harvey, C. A., Hannah, L. & Hole, D. G. Transformative adaptation to climate change for sustainable social-ecological systems. Environ. Sci. Policy 101, 116–125 (2019). This paper reviews conceptual papers that focus on transformational adaptation.
Biesbroek, R. et al. Navigating the politics of transformational adaptation in international climate negotiations. npj Clim. Action 4, 71 (2025). This comment article discusses the arguments for and against transformational adaptation in international climate negotiations.
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This is a summary of: Biesbroek, R. et al. Expert agreement on key elements of transformational adaptation to climate risks. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02548-y (2026).
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Defining transformational adaptation and why it matters. Nat. Clim. Chang. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02550-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02550-4
