Transformative climate adaptation in the United States: Trends and prospects

As climate change intensifies, civil society is increasingly calling for transformative adaptation that redresses drivers of climate vulnerability. We review trends in how US federal government, private industry, and civil society are planning for climate adaptation. We find growing divergence in their approaches and impacts. This incoherence increases maladaptive investment in climate-blind infrastructure, justice-blind reforms in financial and professional sectors, and greater societal vulnerability to climate impacts. If these actors were to proactively and deliberatively engage in transformative adaptation, they would need to address the material, relational, and normative factors that hold current systems in place. Drawing on a review of transformation and collective impact literatures, we conclude with directions for research and policy engagement to support more transformative adaptation moving forward.

Automated summary

As climate change intensifies, there is a growing call for transformative adaptation to address the drivers of climate vulnerability in civil society. However, the approaches and impacts of the US federal government, private industry, and civil society in climate adaptation are increasingly diverging, leading to maladaptive investments and greater societal vulnerability to climate impacts. Proactive and deliberate engagement in transformative adaptation is needed to address the factors holding existing systems in place.