Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation

This working paper, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), proposes a set of foundational and process principles for applying intersectional approaches to climate change adaptation. Based on a May 2024 knowledge co-production workshop, the paper outlines how to integrate intersectionality across the four stages of the iterative adaptation cycle—risk assessment, planning, implementation, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL)—to better address the structural inequities that exacerbate vulnerability for marginalized groups.

• Intersectionality is critical for climate change adaptation because vulnerability is exacerbated by intersecting structures of inequity, such as racism, ableism, ageism, gender inequality, and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community. People who are intersectionally marginalized are often excluded from decision-making and have limited access to resources, yet they possess knowledge and experience that can strengthen adaptation efforts.
• The paper proposes foundational principles for intersectional adaptation that require centering people in high vulnerability, framing adaptation as systemic to address structural vulnerabilities, and positioning marginalized people as rights holders with agency. This approach necessitates a focus on understanding and disrupting harmful power structures within adaptation decision-making.
• To operationalize intersectionality, the authors identify several process principles to be applied throughout the adaptation cycle: reflection on positionality, ensuring processes are context-specific, utilizing deliberate inclusive processes, embracing learning and iteration, ensuring accessibility and consent, and prioritizing engagement and co-production over mere consultation.
• In the impact, vulnerability, and risk assessment phase, an intersectional approach requires participatory data collection and the use of disaggregated data combined with Indigenous and local knowledge. Analysis must focus on how intersecting categories of inequity exacerbate vulnerability and how adaptation responses might either reinforce or disrupt these structures.
• Intersectional planning requires the intentional engagement of equity organizations and affected people to equalize power. The paper suggests that adaptation actions addressing structural inequities should be prioritized, which may involve weighting social vulnerability more heavily in multicriteria assessment processes.
• Implementation of intersectional adaptation requires allocating sufficient resources to the most at-risk communities and ensuring free, prior, and informed consent. It also necessitates safeguarding measures for vulnerable people and investments in enabling activities, such as accessibility supports or childcare, to ensure equitable participation.
• For monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), the paper emphasizes centering accountability to the people affected rather than to funders. This involves using participatory methods, disaggregating data to capture differences across social groups, and tracking failures and unintended negative impacts alongside successes.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-05/intersectional-approaches-climate-change-adaptation.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-05/intersectional-approaches-climate-change-adaptation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-05/intersectional-approaches-climate-change-adaptation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndunpacking, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Unpacking Intersectional Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-05/intersectional-approaches-climate-change-adaptation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }