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The author argues that climate adaptation should be integrated into existing national development goals and governance processes rather than treated as a separate, donor-driven agenda. He proposes five guiding principles: enhancing aid effectiveness by reducing transaction costs for recipients, integrating adaptation into short-term national priorities, ensuring national ownership of policies, avoiding sectoral 'silos' (such as the tendency for Ministries of Environment to capture resources via NAPAs), and respecting the political realities of decision-making. The paper cautions against 'overselling' available climate data and warns that traditional donor processes can sometimes impose higher transaction costs and less respect for partner preferences than emerging BRIC donors.