Given that the direct impacts of climate change are felt primarily at the local level, many have called for climate adaptation to become a local responsibility. Local authorities do indeed have a major influence on climate change adaptation – for example through land use and permitting decisions. Yet their actions are strongly determined by the national fiscal, regulatory and political context in which they are embedded. This policy paper provides an overview and discussion of the roles and responsibilities for climate change adaptation at different levels of government. It argues that collaboration between levels of government is needed to strengthen adaptation at the local level.

This strategy paper was prepared as part of the OECD Territorial Approach to Climate Action and Resilience Programme, which supports sub-national authorities in their efforts to accelerate the transition to net-zero and build systemic resilience. (More on oecd-ilibrary.org )