Advancing Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Adaptation

The paper examines the 'adaptation implementation gap' and the role of stakeholder engagement in bridging it. Using a mixed-method approach involving European practitioners, it finds that while operational enablers are recognized, structural institutional and social barriers—such as governance and resource constraints—limit engagement to narrow, passive approaches. The author argues that advancing engagement requires addressing these systemic constraints by strengthening local capacity, embedding mandates across sectors, and empowering citizens through economic resources and trust.

• A significant disconnect exists where recognized operational enablers for stakeholder engagement are undermined by structural institutional and social barriers concerning governance, resources, and engagement capacity.
• Current stakeholder engagement practices are limited in scope, focusing on passive approaches and restricted to specific sectors, solutions, and phases of the adaptation cycle.
• To improve engagement, it is necessary to move beyond operational guidelines to address systemic constraints by strengthening local institutional resources, diversifying methods, embedding mandates across sectors, and empowering citizens through trust and economic support.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2026). Advancing Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Adaptation. https://www.sei.org/publications/advancing-stakeholder-engagement-climate-adaptation/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Advancing Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Adaptation. 2026. https://www.sei.org/publications/advancing-stakeholder-engagement-climate-adaptation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Advancing Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Adaptation |date=23 July 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/advancing-stakeholder-engagement-climate-adaptation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2026advancing, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Advancing Stakeholder Engagement in Climate Adaptation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/advancing-stakeholder-engagement-climate-adaptation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }