Towards Adaptation Justice – A policy brief for UNFCCC Negotiators and Campaigners

2025 is a crucial year for  adaptation. This September, governments will submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and at COP30, governments will decide on the indicators that will form the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and discuss the fast-tracking of the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). However, not all adaptation is made equal; much like mitigation, adaptation has fast become a frontier for the promotion of false solutions that exacerbate vulnerability, perpetuate injustice, and prioritize profit over people. As governments review their adaptation commitments and deliberate on the shared global ambition for adaptation, now is the time to reframe adaptation as climate action rooted in justice and system change. This policy brief intends to serve as a guiding document for adaptation campaigners and negotiators in the UNFCCC spaces aiming to shape policy discourse towards a progressive view of adaptation.