Transformational Adaptation
Transformational Adaptation
Explore what climate adaptation and transformational adaptation mean and learn about our 5 pillars of transformational adaptation!
What is climate adaptation?
Climate adaptation is how governments, businesses and communities prepare for the impacts of a changing climate, like floods, storms and heatwaves. With climate risks escalating faster than ever and limited progress on preventative action, scientists and policymakers increasingly call for a more transformational approach to adaptation.
How does climate adaption become transformational?
Transformational adaptation goes beyond small incremental adjustments. At the MACC Hub, we view transformational adaptation as meaning:
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- Taking a systemic and integrated approach to climate risks
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- Embedding social empowerment, fairness and long-term thinking
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- Rethinking what we value, such as social cohesion and our relationship with nature, and how our systems support or challenge those values
Currently, many adaptation programmes run on short five-year cycles, which can limit their ability to deliver lasting change. So, how can we plan for ambitious, lasting change that meets today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges?
The MACC Hub approach: reframing climate adaptation
At the MACC Hub we propose a shift in focus. We see adaptation as an ongoing process, not a fixed outcome. To guide this, we’ve developed a Vision and Design Tool (MACC Vision and Design Tool) , a practical checklist of principles to help organisations embed transformational thinking in their adaptation efforts. This supports users to develop principles of transformation, without treating it as a standalone concept.
This tool is:
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- Practical and flexible — suitable for a wide range of stakeholders
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- Forward-looking — designed to support long-term planning
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- Integrated — enabling step-by-step progress toward transformation
It can be used to guide new strategies, inform future adaptation plans or to evaluate and evolve existing programmes.
The 5 pillars of transformational adaptation
Our Vision and Design Tool is structured around five key pillars that work together to support more ambitious adaptation:
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This pillar is about looking at the bigger picture – how different sectors, places, and people are connected – and making sure actions in one area don’t cause problems in another. It means working across boundaries, creating benefits for people and nature, and being fair about who carries the costs.
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To adapt well, we need to understand why certain people and places are most at risk, from both environmental and social pressures. This pillar focuses on tackling root causes of vulnerability, making adaptation fair, and planning with future generations in mind.
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Lasting change depends on genuine collaboration with communities. This pillar is about working together over time, recognising that emotions and values shape how people see risk, and building a shared vision for the future of each place.
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Adaptation means rethinking how decisions are made and resources are shared. This pillar calls for new ways of governing, fairer distribution of costs and benefits, and securing long-term funding, skills, and capacity.
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Because the future is uncertain, adaptation must be flexible and able to evolve. This pillar is about designing actions that can adjust to changing conditions, acting quickly where risks are greatest, and learning continuously through open and transparent monitoring.
Transformational adaptation requires flexibility and a long-term outlook. This means designing interventions that can adjust as new information emerges, matching the pace and scale of actions to the level of risk, and establishing adaptive monitoring systems that enable ongoing learning and improvement over time.
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