Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making

The brief outlines ten recommendations for co-designing climate services, categorized by process, format, and content, to bridge the gap between climate science and policy implementation. Drawing on case studies from Karlstad and Stockholm, it emphasizes the need for iterative dialogue, the use of facilitators, and the alignment of climate data with existing planning tools to ensure that scientific information is actionable for practitioners.

• Practitioners often struggle to articulate specific climate information needs and may rely on predefined technical solutions rather than comparing alternative adaptation options. To counter this, scientists and facilitators should use iterative dialogue to help users expand their scope and consider innovative measures.
• Climate services must be developed with a deep understanding of the planning and decision-making context, as adaptation options often compete with other political agendas. For example, in Stockholm, the need for green spaces to mitigate heat waves competes with the demand for urban housing and densification.
• There is often a misalignment between the long-term time horizons of researchers and the need for timely, structured delivery required by municipal officials and political hierarchies. Establishing boundaries, scope, and clear delivery expectations early in the process is essential to maintain practitioner engagement.
• Facilitators are critical in the initial phases of co-design to initiate contacts, establish a common understanding of the service's scope, and manage power dynamics by ensuring technical language does not exclude participants.
• To be effective, climate information must be tailored to the specific target audience's expertise and role, and presented through a combination of narrative and visual formats. In Karlstad, stakeholders found maps illustrating water levels particularly helpful because they were familiar with the format.
• Climate services should be integrated into existing planning tools to ensure sustainability and allow planners to weigh climate data against non-climate factors. An example is the integration of temperature regulation data into Stockholm's Green Space Index.
• When high-resolution localized data is infeasible, researchers should offer creative alternatives such as templates or archetypes. In Stockholm, the use of heat maps for a small set of archetypal neighbourhoods was suggested as a reference for urban planning strategies.
• Researchers must communicate both the uncertainties and certainties of climate data. In Karlstad, uncertainty in future projections was addressed by adding a standardized "climate factor" to current water levels on maps to help practitioners assess margins for critical infrastructure.
• Transparency and traceability are necessary for the long-term utility of climate services. This includes providing metadata and 'data contracts' that specify the validity period of the results to prevent the use of outdated information.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2020). Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making. https://www.sei.org/publications/ten-ways-to-support-climate-change-adaptation-planning-and-decision-making/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making. 2020. https://www.sei.org/publications/ten-ways-to-support-climate-change-adaptation-planning-and-decision-making/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making |date=8 January 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/ten-ways-to-support-climate-change-adaptation-planning-and-decision-making/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2020ten, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Ten ways to support climate change adaptation planning and decision making}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/ten-ways-to-support-climate-change-adaptation-planning-and-decision-making/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }