Global Imaginaries of Climate Adaptation Governance

The research identifies six globally-influential climate adaptation imaginaries—Eco Modern State, Just Adaptation, Promethean (Green) Growth, High Tech Society, Human Stewardship, and Knowledge Society—and argues that dominant visions often reproduce existing power relations and business-as-usual approaches.

• The study identifies six distinct climate adaptation imaginaries that influence governance: Eco Modern State, Just Adaptation, Promethean (Green) Growth, High Tech Society, Human Stewardship, and Knowledge Society. These imaginaries are based on ethical and ontological beliefs and define specific adaptation strategies and stakeholders.
• The authors argue that the lack of adequate adaptation responses is partly caused by how governance actors imagine the future. Furthermore, the globally dominant imaginaries tend to maintain existing power structures and conventional business-as-usual methods.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2025). Global Imaginaries of Climate Adaptation Governance. https://www.sei.org/publications/global-imaginaries-climate-adaptation-governance/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Global Imaginaries of Climate Adaptation Governance. 2025. https://www.sei.org/publications/global-imaginaries-climate-adaptation-governance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Global Imaginaries of Climate Adaptation Governance |date=23 January 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/global-imaginaries-climate-adaptation-governance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2025global, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Global Imaginaries of Climate Adaptation Governance}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/global-imaginaries-climate-adaptation-governance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }