Our approach to adaptation and resilience is informed by a deep understanding of what makes adaptation and resilience initiatives succeed or fail, coupled with an understanding of climate science and the societal and environmental factors that influence the distribution of vulnerability to climate change and its impacts. Our work embedds key adaptation principles, including the Locally Led Adaptation Principles and others. We believe that adaptation should:
- Be owned by those it is intended to benefit;
- Address the underlying drivers of vunerability as far as possible;
- Address future climate risks as well as current risks and immediate needs.
Using these three overarching principles, we seek to promote and support adaptation that is relevant, ambitious, effective, just, and transparent. We advocate the genuine co-creation of adaptation responses through partnerships between those who need to adapt and those with relevant technical expertise, based on robust decision-making approaches. These approaches start with the identification of adaptation responses and ask under what conditions these responses succeed or fail, and are informed, but not driven by climate data. The goal is to develop robust, practical adaptation solutions that are flexible and responsive, and that minimise risks of ‘maladaptation.’