Guide

Engaging the Education Sector in the National Adaptation Plan Process

A guidance note for education ministries with a focus on children’s education

Understanding the national adaptation plan (NAP) process, as well as the entry points and opportunities for integrating education in this process, is critical to support adaptation within this sector. The guidance note aims to support education ministries in engaging effectively throughout the NAP process.

By Jennifer Merryweather, Deborah Murphy, Pallab Regmi on May 29, 2026

Key Messages

  • The education sector, which is both highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and critical to building community resilience, must adapt.

  • The NAP process can help elevate education priorities, strengthen the case for adaptation financing for this sector, and align the sector’s plans with national climate commitments.

Human-induced climate change is taking place at an unprecedented pace, and the education sector is not immune to its impacts. While it is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, education is also critical to support communities in building adaptive capacity and resilience. 

The education sector needs to adapt to climate risks that are expected to become increasingly complex and more difficult to manage. This requires coordination, collaboration, and action among education and climate change actors, which are core aspects of the NAP process. 

Almost all countries have initiated their NAP processes to plan, finance, implement, and track progress on adaptation action. Understanding the NAP process, as well as the entry points and opportunities for integrating the education sector in this process, is therefore critical to support adaptation within the sector. 

Developed in partnership with Save the Children, this guidance note aims to support education ministries in engaging effectively throughout the NAP process. It provides an overview of the NAP process, critical enabling factors to support education sector considerations in the process, and approaches, considerations, and tools to support education ministries and other education sector actors to engage. 

The guidance note was developed through desk-based research, a review of evidence, tools, and approaches used in the Climate Smart Education Systems Initiative and by the NAP Global Network, and case studies.

Guide details

Topic
Climate Change Adaptation
Project
NAP Global Network
Impact area
Climate
Publisher
IISD
Copyright
IISD, 2026