To improve success in adapting to climate change, we need to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Commencing at the beginning of 2023, this project is a three-year investment to develop guiding principles and frameworks to help governments, civil society and communities undertake best practices in adaptation. It supports the NESP Climate Adaptation Initiative to answer important questions about how Australia is adapting to climate change.
In a changing climate, adaptation is crucial for the well-being and prosperity of all Australians. Supported by solid decision-making frameworks, successful adaptation is built from the best available science and evidence.
Governments and organisations are increasingly considering future climate risks as part of the adaptation planning and implementation processes. To guide best practice and form a national picture of what works well, there is much to learn from plans and action already in progress.
This project has explored ‘enablers’ of adaptation to understand how adaptation practitioners can help overcome barriers they face. It has also developed guiding principles on what best practice adaptation looks like.
In 2025, we released the Australian Adaptation Database, Australia’s first national climate change adaptation stocktake. The Australian Adaptation Database is helping to understand Australia’s progress toward climate change adaptation, collecting and categorising a sample of adaptation activities happening across different scales, sectors and geographic locations. For more information about this, visit the database website.
Want to know more?
Please contact: Sarah Boulter, Climate Adaptation Initiative Lead
