Building Climate Adaptation Across Brazil: From National to Local Action
The International Climate Initiative (IKI) has been supporting multi-sector and multi-level adaptation in Brazil – gathering over 4,000 contributions to Brazil’s National Adaptation Plan and engaging 260 local authorities.
Given its continental dimensions and complex ecosystems, Brazil is among the countries most vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In recent years, economic losses and damages from extreme weather events are estimated to have exceeded US$ 90 billion, affecting 1.7 million households and disrupting income, employment and ultimately the quality of life for more than 324 million people.
Recent floods in the South Region affected millions, while extreme droughts in the Amazon – where rivers shape both the landscape and local livelihoods – impacted more than half of the country’s municipalities. These events underscore that climate change adaptation is urgent and unavoidable to enable sustainable development.
ProAdapta: A strategic programme for Brazil’s climate resilience
In this context, the ProAdapta Project (Support to Brazil in the implementation of its National Climate Change Adaptation Agenda) of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) has played a strategic role in strengthening the country’s resilience since 2017.
ProAdapta has become a national reference in integrating sectoral and subnational stakeholders into the implementation of Brazil’s National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The project´s experience in supporting subnational governments informed a successful proposal to the Green Climate Fund Readiness Program, resulting in the approval of USD 3 million in co-financing in 2025.
An inclusive path to renew Brazil’s National Adaptation Plan
In 2024, Brazil enhanced its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) with ambitious goals and targets. Among the measures adopted was the overhaul of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP), now renamed Plano Clima Adaptação. The Plan comprises a National Adaptation Strategy and 16 sectoral and thematic plans, all grounded in the principles of climate justice and climate federalism, which are enshrined in Brazil’s renewed NDC.
The IKI project played a central role throughout the NAP’s revision process. The project organised a series of in-person and online events, workshops and training sessions, engaging over 700 institutions and collecting more than 4,000 contributions during public consultation, all of which were carefully reviewed and incorporated with the project’s guidance.
This inclusive and participatory approach ensured that the renewed NAP reflects both the diversity of Brazilian society and the country’s complex social and territorial realities. Topics such as gender, ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions were widely discussed in the process, strengthening the Plan’s alignment with best practices in adaptation planning.
Multilevel governance and partnerships to scale up adaptation
Addressing climate change at the subnational level, particularly in states and municipalities, presents greater challenges due to different capacities and institutional contexts. Since its inception, ProAdapta prioritised close collaboration with these federative entities, as exemplified by its partnership with the state of São Paulo and the municipality of Santos.
As Brazil’s most populous state, São Paulo encompasses around 645 municipalities, each with distinct socioeconomic characteristics. In collaboration with the state, the IKI project developed the Resilient Paulistas Municipalities Program and already supported nine municipalities and one metropolitan region in designing their adaptation plans.
Inspired by this experience and driven by the need to strengthen cooperation among federal, state and municipal authorities, the Brazilian government launched the AdaptaCidades Initiative. Its objective is to support 581 municipalities in developing local adaptation plans and accessing climate finance to implement them. Under the ProAdapta project, the International Climate Initiative joined this challenge and partnered with Brazil – with co-financing from the Green Climate Fund – to support 260 municipalities, building on the lessons learned to advance a more integrated and resilient approach to climate adaptation across the country.
Groundbreaking successes for long-term resilience
ProAdapta’s achievements demonstrate that targeted support, inclusive planning and strong partnerships can significantly advance climate adaptation in a country as diverse and complex as Brazil. By bridging national policy with local action and enabling access to climate finance, the project has been laying critical groundwork for long-term resilience.
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IKI Office
Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH
Stresemannstraße 69-71
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