Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-6 (section)

==== 6.4.1.1 Experiences of Adaptation Action in Sub-national Governments ====

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The assessment of cases of local adaptation demonstrates that most urban adaptation is led by local governments (although the local government is also a heterogeneous category and local governance arrangements may vary across administrative and political contexts) ( ''high confidence'' ) (Amundsen et al., 2018; Lesnikowski et al., 2021). Local government reform at different levels can improve local adaptation, whether this is by strengthening specific teams or building cross-departmental linkages ( ''high confidence'' ) (Paterson et al., 2017; [[#Shi--2019|Shi, 2019]] ; [[#Wamsler--2018|Wamsler and Raggers, 2018]] ). Adaptation success often depends on having political champions driving the adaptation agenda alongside measures such as access to a knowledge base, resources at hand, political stability and the presence of dense social networks that can be supported through local government reform (Pasquini et al., 2015). Aligning adaptation objectives with other potential benefits of sustainable development also supports adaptation. Specifically, policies and plans that link adaptation to the objectives of Agenda 2030 supports action at the local level ( [[#UN-Habitat--2016b|UN-Habitat, 2016b]] ). Showing the economic benefits of adaptation is a strategy for local institutions to gain support for adaptation action. For example, local governments in Surat, Indore and Bhubaneswar in India linked adaptation to local development needs in experiments that facilitated accessing human and finance resources, at the local, national and international levels ( [[#Chu--2016|Chu, 2016]] ). However, linking adaptation to co-benefits may also divide efforts and reduce the effectiveness of adaptation actions. For example, urban land use planning and management in Ambo town, Ethiopia, resulted in the implementation of urban greening projects, but these projects did not directly address the climate-related disaster risks affecting the settlement, including urban flooding, water stress, water shortages, increased urban heat, wind and dust storms (Ogato et al., 2017).

Multi-level governance measures that support local governments can foster robust adaptation approaches and address risks and vulnerabilities across scales ( ''high confidence'' ) (Westman, Broto and Huang, 2019; Hardoy et al., 2014; [[#Romero-Lankao--2015|Romero-Lankao and Hardoy, 2015]] ). Effective action by local government requires national government’s support ( ''medium confidence'' ). For example, [[#Araos--2017|Araos et al. (2017)]] documents the case of Dhaka, Bangladesh, where a national plan prioritises measures for protecting coasts and agricultural production. In this context, the local government has minimal access to human and financial resources. Without national support, the local government struggles to coordinate action among different stakeholders. National urban adaptation directives can influence municipal governments’ action and planning, but evidence suggests that national policy alone is not sufficient to deliver action on the ground without understanding local conditions ( ''high confidence'' ) (Archer et al., 2014; Lehmann et al., 2015).

There are barriers for municipal adaptation plans to deliver effective adaptation outcomes and implemented actions often diverge from plans (see [[#6.4.6|Section 6.4.6]] ). For example, a comparison of adaptation plans and budget expenditures of six metropolitan cities in South Korea between 2012 and 2016 showed that the implementation of adaptation programmes diverged substantially from the original plans, both in terms of total and sector-specific spending ( [[#Lee--2018|Lee and Kim, 2018]] ). Often, a focus on institutional change and reform limits attention to more practical aspects of adaptation that improve communities’ resilience (Castán Broto and Westman, 2020). Adaptation actions, even where financed effectively, do not always deliver positive outcomes ( ''high confidence'' ) (Reckien et al., 2015; [[#Woodruff--2016|Woodruff and Stults, 2016]] ; [[#Uittenbroek--2016|Uittenbroek, 2016]] ; Aguiar et al., 2018; Reckien et al., 2018a; Olazabal et al., 2019b; Campello Torres et al., 2021) (see also [[#6.4.7|Section 6.4.7]] ).

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