Local responses to climate change: Navigating mainstreaming and transformative adaptation

This article is based on the study done to explore the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into municipal planning The study used the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality as comparative case studies in South Africa. It identified six key factors that influenced the effectiveness of adaptation mainstreaming: leadership arrangements; networks and knowledge-sharing; information access and use; capacity, resources, and skills; institutional coordination structure and process; and intergovernmental relations and coordination. The study showed how organisational dynamics and institutional arrangements impacted on the integration of climate change adaptation into planning processes, and it indicated that balancing long-term transformative objectives with immediate concerns required a dual approach that strategically embedded transformational goals within existing systems. The study offered insights into the complexity of reconciling transformative adaptation and development priorities through mainstreaming and it expanded the current understanding of how municipalities could navigate effective mainstreaming within the context of practical governance. • Effective adaptation mainstreaming relies on climate services access and use. • Organisational dynamics and structures shape mainstreaming outcomes. • Aligning transformational goals with broader development agendas is essential. • Conceptual framework links mainstreaming factors to transformative adaptation. • Reflexivity and transdisciplinarity enhance transformative adaptation efforts.