COP21 Q&A: Where Does Climate Adaptation Fit Into the Paris Agreement?

The document argues that the Paris Agreement should establish a long-term global goal for climate adaptation to complement mitigation efforts. It proposes a structured cycle of action consisting of regular national adaptation communications, a global stocktake every five years to assess progress and gaps, and high-level sessions to share best practices. The author emphasizes that this process must be streamlined to minimize the reporting burden on developing countries, leveraging existing tools like National Adaptation Plans.

• A strong Paris Agreement should establish a long-term global goal for adaptation to accelerate national plans and strengthen international cooperation for community resilience, linking adaptation needs to global emission reduction ambitions.
• The proposed adaptation framework focuses on three core pillars: enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability, treating adaptation as a universal challenge with implications at all levels of governance.
• The document outlines a specific operational cycle for adaptation: national 'Adaptation communications' produced every five years, a 'global stocktake' to synthesize progress and identify gaps, and high-level sessions to engage non-state actors like businesses and cities.
• To ensure equity and feasibility, the adaptation process must minimize the administrative burden on developing countries by allowing them to use existing reporting tools, such as National Adaptation Plans and National Communications.

APA

World Resources Institute (2015). COP21 Q&A: Where Does Climate Adaptation Fit Into the Paris Agreement? https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-where-does-climate-adaptation-fit-paris-agreement

Chicago

World Resources Institute. COP21 Q&A: Where Does Climate Adaptation Fit Into the Paris Agreement? 2015. https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-where-does-climate-adaptation-fit-paris-agreement.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=COP21 Q&A: Where Does Climate Adaptation Fit Into the Paris Agreement? |date=9 December 2015 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-where-does-climate-adaptation-fit-paris-agreement |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2015cop21, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{COP21 Q\&A: Where Does Climate Adaptation Fit Into the Paris Agreement?}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-where-does-climate-adaptation-fit-paris-agreement}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }