Report

What Does the First Global Stocktake Mean for the National Adaptation Plan Process?

The outcome of the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement painted a clearer picture of the state of global climate action while offering a blueprint for countries to strengthen domestic efforts on mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and support. What does this mean for developing countries' national adaptation plan (NAP) processes? And how could the NAP process facilitate the implementation of the outcome of the first global stocktake? 

By Jeffrey Qi, Emilie Beauchamp on July 24, 2025

Key Messages

  • Accelerating adaptation is more urgent than ever in this critical decade, and the NAP process continues to be the main vehicle for developing countries to systematically enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen climate resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change.

  • Developing countries' NAP teams could reflect on the global-level assessment of progress and validate their current plans and implementation trajectories, and integrate the recommendations, good practices, and opportunities identified by the outcome of the first global stocktake into their NAP.

  • Countries could leverage the global stocktake outcomes to advocate for support on means of implementation, including finance, capacity building, and technological transfer, for NAP implementation.

  • Countries should contribute actively to the second global stocktake to ensure developing countries' views and priorities are captured by the global collective assessment process toward the global goal on adaptation and add visibility to the importance of the NAP process.

In 2023, the first global stocktake concluded at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai, giving a clearer picture of the state of global climate action. It highlighted that despite near-universal actions to implement the Paris Agreement, countries are still not on track to meet the long-term temperature and adaptation goals. At the same time, it underscored the critical role of the NAP process in helping developing countries systematically identify and address their medium- and long-term priorities for adapting to climate change. 

This report summarizes the key messages on adaptation from the outcomes of the first global stocktake for developing countries' NAP teams, adaptation policy-makers and practitioners, and UNFCCC negotiators. It also provides recommendations and actionable steps on how countries can implement the decisions as part of their NAP processes.

Report details

Topic
Climate Change Adaptation
Gender Equality
Nature-Based Solutions
Project
NAP Global Network
Impact area
Climate
Publisher
IISD
Copyright
IISD, 2025