Adapting from the Ground Up

The report argues that small businesses are critical for climate adaptation in developing countries, as they provide nearly 60% of employment and are deeply embedded in vulnerable communities. It outlines a six-step framework for governments to engage these businesses and provides a menu of interventions, including climate risk information, technical assistance, and fiscal incentives. The document recommends that governments, large corporations, multilateral partners, and special climate funds collaborate to provide financing, knowledge transfer, and market access to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to catalyze adaptation efforts.

• Small businesses are essential for sustainable development and community resilience in developing countries because they account for nearly 60% of employment.
• Many small businesses in the developing world operate in the agricultural sector, which faces high vulnerability to climate-driven floods and droughts.
• Governments can utilize a six-step process to select policy options for business community adaptation: engaging stakeholders, prioritizing vulnerable sectors, identifying investment drivers, identifying investment barriers, designing interventions to catalyze MSE investment, and implementing/scaling up.
• Proposed interventions to help small businesses build resilience include providing climate risk information, technical training, regulatory and fiscal incentives, subsidies, tax relief, public infrastructure spending, and risk compensation instruments.
• Large private sector actors are encouraged to strengthen the resilience of MSEs within their supply chains by providing financing and technical assistance, particularly in low-income countries.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Adapting from the Ground Up. https://www.wri.org/research/adapting-ground

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Adapting from the Ground Up. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/adapting-ground.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Adapting from the Ground Up |url=https://www.wri.org/research/adapting-ground |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendadapting, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Adapting from the Ground Up}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/adapting-ground}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }