This report draws on a workshop held on Legal Approaches to Climate Adaptation, organised by SOAS, University of London, United Nations University Bonn, and LRI in 2024. The Workshop brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners and civil servants to examine emerging legal approaches to climate adaptation.
Discussions explored international developments, including the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) and the implementation of adaptation commitments within Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). They also reflected the growing consensus that effective adaptation requires a balance between global coherence, legal flexibility, and locally led implementation.
The report is structured focuses on climate adaptation, explaining the main physical and international law and policy drivers for developing or revising adaptation-related laws. It outlines key approaches to legislating for adaptation, exploring the choice between policy and legislation and highlighting features of political and legal systems that shape how adaptation measures are designed and implemented and provides considerations for lawmakers and advocates to consider when drafting or engaging with adaptation legislation. Finally, the report also envisages how just and inclusive outcomes can be supported by adaptation law and policy can support.