Unveiling patterns in the quality and consistency of climate adaptation plans of the Global Covenant of Mayors

Cities and urban areas are persistently praised for addressing climate impacts and risks, but metrics are lacking to check how cities fare on adaptation progress. This study introduces ADAQA-GCoM, a new tool designed to assess the quality of urban climate adaptation plans submitted to the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM). Applying ADAQA-GCoM to 2205 plans of the GCoM’s MyCovenant dataset reveals a substantial variation in quality, though consistent patterns emerge across components and regions. Cities generally perform well in terms of their Fact Base, Measures, Implementation, and Participation, but score lower in Goals, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and Consistency. Weak goal-setting and M&E indicate persistent challenges in defining measurable objectives and tracking adaptation progress. While participation is a notable strength of the GCoM framework, its implementation remains inconsistent, particularly regarding the inclusion of vulnerable groups. High-scoring plans are rare, and plan quality shows no significant association with city size or national context, suggesting that GCoM’s standardized support helps bridge capacity gaps. Over time, scores for Goals, Measures, Implementation, and Participation have improved, while Fact Base and M&E have declined, likely due to shifting priorities and resources. The study demonstrates the usefulness of ADAQA-GCoM as a diagnostic and comparative tool towards more coherent, transparent, and effective urban climate adaptation planning worldwide.

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Publication Details

Journal
npj Urban Sustainability
Published
2026-04-25
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00390-5
Primary Topic
Urban Heat Island Mitigation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Unveiling patterns in the quality and consistency of climate adaptation plans of the Global Covenant of Mayors

Klavdija Rižnar, Aldo Treville, Stelios Grafakos, Filomena Pietrapertosa et al.
npj Urban Sustainability
Urban Heat Island Mitigation
article

Unveiling patterns in the quality and consistency of climate adaptation plans of the Global Covenant of Mayors

Klavdija Rižnar, Aldo Treville, Stelios Grafakos, Filomena Pietrapertosa, Attila Buzási, Byron Ioannou, Peter Eckersley, Efrén Feliú, Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado, Vincent Viguié, Oliver Heidrich, Mária Szalmáné Csete, Hans Orru, Monica Salvia, Luigi Santopietro, Aoife M. Foley, Davide Geneletti, Anna Krook-Riekkola, Diana Reckien, Paolo Bertoldi, Paris Fokaides
article en

Abstract

Cities and urban areas are persistently praised for addressing climate impacts and risks, but metrics are lacking to check how cities fare on adaptation progress. This study introduces ADAQA-GCoM, a new tool designed to assess the quality of urban climate adaptation plans submitted to the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM). Applying ADAQA-GCoM to 2205 plans of the GCoM’s MyCovenant dataset reveals a substantial variation in quality, though consistent patterns emerge across components and regions. Cities generally perform well in terms of their Fact Base, Measures, Implementation, and Participation, but score lower in Goals, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), and Consistency. Weak goal-setting and M&E indicate persistent challenges in defining measurable objectives and tracking adaptation progress. While participation is a notable strength of the GCoM framework, its implementation remains inconsistent, particularly regarding the inclusion of vulnerable groups. High-scoring plans are rare, and plan quality shows no significant association with city size or national context, suggesting that GCoM’s standardized support helps bridge capacity gaps. Over time, scores for Goals, Measures, Implementation, and Participation have improved, while Fact Base and M&E have declined, likely due to shifting priorities and resources. The study demonstrates the usefulness of ADAQA-GCoM as a diagnostic and comparative tool towards more coherent, transparent, and effective urban climate adaptation planning worldwide.

npj Urban Sustainability
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Eurostat (LU), Luleå University of Technology (SE), University of Trento (IT), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), University of Manchester (GB), Budapest University of Technology and Economics (HU), Frederick University (CY), Re-shaping Development Institute (KR), Tecnalia (ES), CNR-IMIOT – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Istituto di Metodologie Integrate per l’Osservazione della Terra (IT), Joint Research Centre (IT), Tyndall Centre (GB), Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptu (SI), Nottingham Trent University (GB), University of Tartu (EE), Newcastle University (GB), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES), University of Twente (NL)
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Urban Heat Island Mitigation
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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