Transboundary Climate Risk

This policy brief by SEI, IDDRI, and ODI argues that climate adaptation must shift from a local-to-national focus to a transboundary perspective. It contends that because climate risks are 'borderless'—affecting global supply chains, migration, and ecosystems—international cooperation through the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement is essential to prevent 'climate change contagion' in the global economy.

• The authors argue that adaptation is currently undervalued in international negotiations because it is viewed as a local problem, which hinders the pursuit of a global adaptation agenda. While the Paris Agreement established a global goal on adaptation in Article 7.1, mitigation remains the primary focus of climate governance.
• Climate risk is described as 'borderless' because impacts in one country can create risks in others through four primary pathways: global trade, migration, shared ecosystems, and financial systems. Consequently, adaptation in one region can have positive or negative effects elsewhere, making adaptation a 'global public good'.
• The brief highlights a gap in current adaptation planning, noting that most national strategies focus on 'direct' impacts within borders. While transboundary risk assessments have been conducted primarily by developed countries in Europe (including Finland, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the EU), indicator-based studies show that many developing countries are also highly exposed.
• The document identifies specific examples of transboundary risk and cooperation: Senegal's food security is linked to rice yields in Thailand, Vietnam, and India; the Mekong River Commission facilitates transboundary planning in the Lower Mekong Basin; and Angola collaborates with Namibia and South Africa regarding the Benguela fisheries system.
• The authors propose several operational changes to the UNFCCC process to address transboundary risks, including developing a consistent terminology (possibly led by the IPCC), expanding the global stocktake to track regional and global adaptation responses, and updating National Adaptation Plan (NAP) guidelines to include teleconnections.
• The brief warns that if adaptation continues to be framed as an exclusively local-to-national issue (Scenario A), countries may reach their limits to adaptation due to under-investment and protectionist approaches. Conversely, a global framing (Scenario B) would see NAPs and adaptation communications explicitly address cross-border effects and global public goods.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2018). Transboundary Climate Risk. https://www.sei.org/publications/transboundary-climate-risk

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Transboundary Climate Risk. 2018. https://www.sei.org/publications/transboundary-climate-risk.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Transboundary Climate Risk |date=18 April 2018 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/transboundary-climate-risk |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2018transboundary, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Transboundary Climate Risk}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2018}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/transboundary-climate-risk}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }