Climate adaptation research priorities and funding: a review of US federal departments’ climate action plans

ABSTRACT

National-level governments are directing and funding climate adaptation research, which is essential to informing effective and equitable adaptation practices. We sought to understand how United States (US) federal agencies prioritize, direct, and fund research related to climate adaptation and climate resilience through analyzing climate action plans created in 2021 by 13 agencies who are members of the US Global Change Research Program. We examine: (1) agencies’ stated climate adaptation research priorities; (2) how agencies address collaboration, outreach, accessibility, and usability of research outcomes; and (3) agencies’ adaptation research funding opportunities. We argue that certain research needs, justice and equity considerations, and interdisciplinary research should be emphasized to a greater degree. While adaptation research capacity and funding opportunities are expanding, they remain inadequate for the scale of research needed.

Key policy insights

• US federal agencies vary in their integration of research as a core component of their climate adaptation plans, but most prioritize research that is relevant and accessible to stakeholders and decision-makers.

• While all agencies addressed environmental justice, some could more substantially incorporate justice considerations into their climate adaptation research.

• Adaptation research and strategies should ensure that collaborations are inclusive and sustainable and would benefit from meaningful and respectful collaboration with tribes and Indigenous Peoples, as well as marginalized and under-represented groups.

• Multidisciplinary research is key to climate adaptation and should be enhanced through increasing funding support for crosscutting programmes.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate adaptation
• adaptation planning
• resilience
• US federal agencies
• research funding

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the reviewers for their helpful comments. The corresponding author can be emailed for a copy of this publication.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Colorado State University's Office of Vice President for Research, which funded the Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP), and by the US National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology Program [1702996].