Background
The adaptation communication was established by Article 7, paragraphs 10 and 11, of the Paris Agreement. Each Party should submit and update periodically an adaptation communication, which may include information on its priorities, implementation and support needs, plans and actions.
Paragraph 1 of decision 9/CMA.1 notes that the purpose of the adaptation communication is to increase the visibility and profile of adaptation and its balance with mitigation, strengthen adaptation action and support for developing countries, provide input to the global stocktake, and enhance learning and understanding of adaptation needs and actions.
The adaptation communication shall be submitted, as appropriate, as a component of or in conjunction with other communications and/or documents, including a national adaptation plan, a national communication, a nationally determined contribution, or a biennial transparency report.
Guidance relating to adaptation communications
Decision 9/CMA.1 contains the guidance for preparing and submitting an adaptation communication. It outlines the general modalities for submission, recommends timelines, outlines how the adaptation communication relates to other documents containing adaptation information, and identifies the specific types of information that Parties may include.
The guidance to the adaptation communications is available in all UN languages. The language versions can be accessed directly from the table below:
CMA.1 also decided to take stock of, and if necessary revise, the guidance, taking into account submissions from Parties and a synthesis report thereof prepared by the secretariat, in 2025. This stocktake is currently under consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Implementation.
Supplementary guidance for adaptation communications
CMA 1 requested the Adaptation Committee to develop, with the engagement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, using relevant existing guidance as a starting point, as appropriate, by June 2022, draft supplementary guidance for voluntary use by Parties in communicating information in accordance with the elements contained in the annex (see decision 9/CMA.1). This draft supplementary guidance was prepared for the consideration by the subsidiary bodies at their fifty-seventh sessions (November 2022) in the context of their consideration of the report of the Adaptation Committee and is available here.
CMA 7 requested the secretariat to translate the supplementary in all official United Nations languages (decision 4/CMA.7, paragraph 3). The language versions can be accessed directly from the table below:
Adaptation Communications Registry
The Adaptation Communications Registry is the official public registry established under the Paris Agreement and maintained by the UNFCCC secretariat to record Parties' adaptation communications. The registry serves as a centralized platform that makes these communications publicly accessible, enhancing transparency, facilitating knowledge sharing among Parties, and providing an input to the global stocktake under the Paris Agreement.
The Adaptation Communications Registry is available here.
Parties can submit their adaptation communications by logging in to the public registry. Questions about the public registry can be directed to the secretariat via adaptation-communications@unfccc.int.