Driving, connecting and communicating: the many roles of national government in climate adaptation planning

This information brief discusses how policy and governance arrangements at the national level are vital for climate adaptation in the Caribbean. Local action is important but is insufficient in isolation. This report presents two tools, CCORAL and ARIA, to help address adaptation planning. 

National governments provide strategic oversight and access to climate finance and have the capacity and authority to drive climate action. Climate change considerations should, therefore, be integrated into policies and plans across government departments. These institutional arrangements are vital to translate government policy into action. 

Government institutions are also vital in stimulating action at the local level. Networked governance arrangements can help to build movements for climate resilience that translate national priorities into local action and integrate local needs into national policy.

This study shows the importance of effective climate policy at the national level. As strong, flexible, transparent and accountable institutions are a vital element of good governance, attention should be paid to developing channels for interagency communications between organisations at the national level, and across scales.