1.3.2 Policy planning and stakeholder engagement to combat climate change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international treaty with the ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention and meet periodically in terms of Conferences of the Parties (COP), recognize that adaptation is a global challenge faced by all with local, subnational, national, regional, and international dimensions, and that it is a key component of the long-term global response to climate change to protect people, livelihoods, and ecosystems. It also recognizes the importance of applying an inclusive approach that considers everybody’s feedback, action, knowledge, ideas, and skills. In other words, successful adaptation depends not only on governments, but also on the active and sustained engagement of all stakeholders, including local, regional, national, and international organizations, public, and private sectors, and civil society. Community-oriented activities carried out by a network of individuals and organizations are important in these terms, with possible impact through mitigation and adaptation actions in various fields including food waste and water management, sustainable transport, environmental protection and conservation, etc. (ACTION project, Module 7).

Relevant stakeholders and citizens, including policymakers, scientists, administrators, communities, and managers in the economic sectors most at risk, are the backbone of successful adaptation planning and implementation. Therefore, they all need to be brought together to identify the most appropriate forms of adaptation and assist in the implementation of adaptation policies, since they will comprise the “adaptation community” that is required to sustain it. According to Conde & Lonsdale (2005), there are various approaches to stakeholder engagement, from quite passive interactions, where the stakeholders provide information, to “self-mobilization”, where the stakeholders themselves initiate and design the process. 

The “Do it yourself (DIY) manual for mobilizing and engaging stakeholders and citizens in climate change adaptation planning and implementation” (European Union, 2023) is a useful document that has been produced as part of the EU Mission Implementation Platform for Adaptation to Climate Change (MIP4Adapt). The manual is underpinned conceptually by four elements: communicate, engage, connect, and enable (action), and provides guidance on how to engage stakeholders and citizens throughout the six main steps of the climate change adaptation planning process described in the Regional Adaptation Support Tool (RAST).