From championing locally-led adaptation to launching innovative tools, and fostering city-to-city exchanges, Adaptation Futures 2025 (AF2025) demonstrated that our collective strength lies in collaboration.
ICLEI Oceania, with support from the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy funded by the European Union, joined this flagship adaptation gathering in Ōtautahi Christchurch in mid-October. Adaptation Futures is the premier international climate change adaptation conference series that enables practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and academics from across the world to gather to network, collaborate, learn, and inspire.
Emerging themes from the week included the urgency of bridging science, policy, and finance for locally-led adaptation, strengthening urban resilience, and accelerating climate finance accessibility for communities on the frontline. Dialogues on justice, inclusion, and loss and damage underscored that adaptation must be both people-centred and systems-driven, transforming commitments into action across all levels of governance.
Also launched at AF2025 was the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) Climate Innovation Readiness Navigator, a new interactive tool designed to help cities and regions diagnose and accelerate readiness for climate innovation and adaptation investment.
Ocean, islands, futures, and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
At our “Turning the Tide” session, we argued that NDCs are not compliance templates, but community compasses for ocean stewardship, Indigenous knowledge, inclusive multi‑level governance, finance for local implementation, and explicit recognition of loss and damage.
SPC’s Amit Singh showcased a regional NDC prioritisation tool that aligns priorities and gaps to guide investment across 14 Pacific Island Countries. Amit’s address showed that Pacific finance inflows between 2011 and 2021 totalled approximately USD 2.2-3.4 billion. Yet adaptation needs require around USD 1 billion a year. This shortfall underscores the need for fit‑for‑purpose access to funding, connecting policy to pipelines, and coordinating regionally across the Pacific to scale impact.
City‑to‑city exchange: Christchurch, Cascais and ICLEI
A meeting with Christchurch City Council, the City of Cascais, and ICLEI Europe provided the opportunity to share adaptation responses and deep‑dive into urban food systems – covering areas such as risk to food supply chains, local procurement for resilience, nature‑based cooling, and governance for equitable access. Key discussion points from the exchange included a city tour, tools, metrics, and exploration of a joint concept note for funding.
ICLEI Oceania will continue to ensure that the voices and solutions of Oceania’s communities are central to building a resilient future for all.
