Abstract

The Adaptation Committee (AC) has a history of prioritizing Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of adaptation efforts, which is reflected in its work over the years. Established in 2010, the Adaptation Committee is the United Nations’ premier expert body addressing climate change adaptation. Its goal is to promote the implementation of enhanced action on adaptation in a coherent manner under the Convention and Paris Agreement.

This paper is the latest addition to its extensive portfolio, building upon previous initiatives like the 2020/2021 Adaptation Forum on M&E systems and a technical paper on reviewing global progress in adaptation. The AC's work has contributed to the growing momentum for adaptation worldwide, providing valuable insights, methodologies, best practices, and lessons for assessing adaptation efforts at different governance levels. It also played a role in shaping the global goal on adaptation.

This paper aims to further enhance knowledge and practice of M&E in adaptation, benefiting policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders interested in advancing this field. Overall, it explores the following questions:

• What steps do governments take to develop and apply their M&E systems for adaptation, and what challenges do they encounter?
• What opportunities exist to address these challenges and enhance the implementation of adaptation actions at the national and subnational levels through M&E?
• How do governments at the national and subnational level institutionalize learning in their M&E systems? How do governments define and measure progress in adaptation efforts, including the identification of relevant indicators?

Affiliated Organizations

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

UNFCCC stands for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Convention has near universal membership (198 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

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