Monitoring & Evaluation

Keeping track of climate
adaptation progress

Specific purpose #8: Assessing progress towards adaptation at national level

ProspectIdentifying main climate risks and vulnerabilities and their development over time, thereby helping to understand the status of adaptation.
Potential use of M&E findingsIdentifying main climate risks and vulnerabilities and their development over time, thereby helping to understand the status of adaptation.
DescriptionPeriodically assessing national climate risks and vulnerabilities based on a suitable methodology that is applicable across sectors. The assessment may involve a large number of government agencies, academia and others from national and subnational level.
Benefits and limitationsPriority risks and vulnerabilities can be identified in a standardized way across sectors and geographic levels. The process of developing and running the analysis can create awareness amongst the involved actors. Conducting the same or similar assessment over time provides insights into changes in risk and vulnerabilities, and could indicate whether respective strategies and actions have had an effect. Depending on the method and the resolution, national vulnerability assessments may not be specific enough to guide local adaptation actions.
Resources neededSubstantial expertise and financial resources are required to develop a methodology, engage stakeholders, gather data and conduct the analysis. Repeating the same analysis after a few years might be somewhat cheaper, but still implies high costs.
Examples from practice• The UK is producing a UK-wide climate risk assessment every five years which feeds in to the development of the next UK National Adaptation Programme. The 2017 report analysed present-day and future climate risks and prioritised risks and opportunities for which additional action is needed.
• Germany developed a methodology for vulnerability assessment and applied it to all action fields of the German Adaptation Strategy. The first assessment in 2015 formed part of the evaluation of the German Adaptation Strategy and its first action plan.
LinksUK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017.
Germany’s national vulnerability assessment and methodology (English Summary) (Full text in German).
A consensus based vulnerability assessment to climate change in Germany. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 7, pp.306-326.