The Role of Catalysts in the Climate Adaptation Process

ABSTRACT The need to accelerate the climate adaptation process has become increasingly evident as devastating climate impacts are more widely experienced, but climate action remains deficient. Climate adaptation is typically associated with three key types of enabling conditions whose presence is deemed necessary but not sufficient for climate action: governance capacity, access to finance, and relevant and appropriate knowledge. In this article, we present and examine another component of the adaptation process: catalysts. Catalysts are elements whose presence leads to an initiation or acceleration of climate action. Catalysts or catalyzing conditions can complement enabling conditions by overcoming conditions that block climate action or keep it at minimal levels. This article focuses on the presence and influence of catalysts within the adaptation process and presents four types of catalyzing conditions. Each type is documented with a case study that illustrates how climate action, generally and adaptation, specifically was advanced. The types and the associated cases include (1) a sense of urgency—the recent water crisis of Cape Town; (2) extreme events—Hurricane Sandy in New York City; (3) political innovators—Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris; and (4) climate litigation—legal action in the Netherlands. We examine the mechanisms through which these four types of catalysts link with ongoing adaptation processes. In particular, these catalyzing conditions mobilize resources, specifically political support, financing, and information, by making adaptation action a higher priority within political and civic agendas. Catalysts also can contribute to the building of networks and coalitions between organizations whose ties had previously been weak or absent. In the conclusion, recommendations for future research to further clarify how catalysts advance adaptation action are suggested.