Climate adaptation governance
National Adaptation Plan (NAP)
The UNFCCC process through which countries identify and integrate medium- and long-term adaptation needs into development planning.
Definition
The national adaptation plan process was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework (COP16, 2010) to enable least developed and other developing countries to identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs and integrate them into development planning. Its objectives are to reduce vulnerability by building adaptive capacity and resilience, and to facilitate coherent integration of adaptation into policies, programmes and development strategies.
References
COP16 establishment, objectives, finance role
submission numbers, LDC/SIDS coverage
Overview
What it means
Unlike the urgent-action NAPAs that preceded it, the NAP is strategic and continuous: risk assessment, prioritisation, implementation, and monitoring and learning. NAPs also function as blueprints for accessing adaptation finance; as of early 2026, 75 developing countries had submitted NAP documents.
How it is used
Governments produce NAP documents and report to UNFCCC's NAP Central; donors and funds (GCF, Adaptation Fund) align adaptation investments with them; the Global Goal on Adaptation frames assessment of progress.
Why it matters
NAPs are the primary vehicle for turning adaptation from projects into planning — the difference between reacting to disasters and preparing societies for a changed climate. **Note:** In-batch merge: 1807 "National Adaptation Plan (NAP)" (duplicate) → this entry.
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