A new policy paper titled “Accelerating Global Climate Resilience through Robust Adaptation Metrics”, co-authored by ARIN experts Humphrey Agevi and Charles Tonui in collaboration with a notable group of international adaptation specialists under the International Platform on Adaptation Metrics (IPAM), presents a timely and critical contribution to the global adaptation discourse.
The paper addresses a persistent challenge in climate action: the lack of coherence and alignment in how adaptation to climate change is measured, reported, and evaluated. Although adaptation is widely acknowledged as central to building climate resilience, existing measurement frameworks across major global processes, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification, remain fragmented and inconsistent. This disjointed approach hampers efforts to monitor progress, coordinate actions, and ensure that adaptation outcomes are effective, equitable, and scalable.
In response, the paper proposes a pragmatic and forward-looking framework grounded in systems thinking and scale sensitivity. It introduces six guiding principles for designing adaptation metrics, emphasizing that indicators must be aggregable, transparent, consistent over time, realistic, coherent within broader frameworks, and attuned to local contexts and vulnerabilities.
At the heart of the paper is a Theory of Change (ToC)-based Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework that bridges local adaptation actions with the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). This framework enables coherent aggregation of evidence, from community-level initiatives to global reporting, ensuring that adaptation efforts are systematically tracked and meaningfully connected to broader resilience goals.
The paper also highlights the enabling conditions necessary to operationalise effective adaptation measurement. These include strengthening institutional capacities at national and subnational levels, promoting data interoperability for seamless information sharing, aligning climate finance with measurable adaptation outcomes, and leveraging technological innovations such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve transparency, accountability, and timeliness in adaptation reporting.
Developed through extensive collaboration and launched at the 2025 International Conference on Adaptation Metrics in Rabat, Morocco, this policy paper provides a practical roadmap for governments, researchers, development partners, and non-state actors. It lays the foundation for coordinated, inclusive, and evidence-based adaptation measurement systems that can accelerate progress toward global climate resilience, ensuring that adaptation investments translate into tangible, equitable benefits for vulnerable communities worldwide.