Adaptation without borders: how understanding indirect impacts could change countries' approach to climate risks

This discussion brief from the Stockholm Environment Institute introduces the concept of indirect climate change impacts—risks originating outside a country's borders—and argues that national adaptation planning must account for global interdependence and hyper-connectivity.

• The document distinguishes between direct climate impacts, such as sea level rise or rainfall decline, and indirect impacts, which are events observed in one location but caused by climate change or extreme events in another location. An example provided is a drought-induced soya crop failure in Brazil causing livestock feed prices to increase in Europe.
• Global hyper-connectivity and trade networks create pathways for risks to travel thousands of kilometres, potentially disrupting global commodities markets, business operations, supply chains, and financial flows. The brief notes that wealthier nations, which may perceive themselves as less vulnerable to direct climate change, could be significantly exposed to these indirect impacts from abroad.
• The brief outlines initial work from the Adaptation Without Borders project, which includes a case study of the UK and a text analysis of the most recent National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 25 countries to determine how indirect impacts are addressed.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2013). Adaptation without borders: how understanding indirect impacts could change countries' approach to climate risks. https://www.sei.org/publications/adaptation-without-borders-how-understanding-indirect-impacts-could-change-countries-approach-to-climate-risks/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Adaptation without borders: how understanding indirect impacts could change countries' approach to climate risks. 2013. https://www.sei.org/publications/adaptation-without-borders-how-understanding-indirect-impacts-could-change-countries-approach-to-climate-risks/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Adaptation without borders: how understanding indirect impacts could change countries' approach to climate risks |date=6 November 2013 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/adaptation-without-borders-how-understanding-indirect-impacts-could-change-countries-approach-to-climate-risks/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2013adaptation, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Adaptation without borders: how understanding indirect impacts could change countries' approach to climate risks}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/adaptation-without-borders-how-understanding-indirect-impacts-could-change-countries-approach-to-climate-risks/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }