Understanding diverse roles in climate adaptation initiatives
[...]
Climate adaptation actors in rural vs urban areas
The roles and responsibilities of actors vary significantly between rural and urban areas. In rural areas, individual households are the main actors of climate adaptation actions compared to governments, from local to national, while the opposite is true in urban areas.
Climate adaptation actors in regions across the world
In higher-income regions, mainly Europe, North America, and Australasia, government actors represent the largest group of reported adaptation actors compared to individuals/households). In contrast, in countries in the global south, such as Asia, Africa, and the Smal Island states, individuals/families are the biggest climate adaptation actors compared to their governments. Civil society is the frequent implementor of climate adaptation in Central and South America and the Small Island States.
Examining climate adaptation from various actors, researchers noted that individual adaptation actions were incremental, shallower, and less connected to institutional change. In contrast, government actors were generally less prominent when implementing climate adaptation.
Their findings suggest a more “transformational adaptation, which requires systemic change and multi-actor collaboration, building on broad societal support and a shared agreement on roles and responsibilities: a social contract for climate action and sustainability transformations.”