9th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum

When: 29 September – 3 October 2025
Where: United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) will co-host the 9th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation. It will be supported by the APAN Secretariat, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Climate change is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, disproportionately affecting countries and vulnerable communities. Traditional adaptation measures are proving insufficient in addressing the systemic and long-term impacts of climate change. Parties to the Climate Change Convention recognize that efforts towards reducing vulnerability and enhancing adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change should be strengthened including long-term transformational adaptation.

This requires a fundamental shift in policies, practices, and mindsets to create resilient societies and sustainable development pathways. Transformational adaptation also goes beyond incremental responses, focusing on large-scale systemic changes that reshape economic, social, and governance structures to withstand climate shocks and stressors. Therefore, APAN forum aims to

1. Enhance knowledge and understanding of transformational adaptation including differences between and continuum of incremental and transformational adaptation.
2. Explore innovative policies, technologies, practices, and financial instruments and modalities, and changes needed to support transformational adaptation.
3. Identify key entry points and ideas to strengthen multi-stakeholder collaboration to drive large-scale systemic changes to support transition and transformation.
4. Identify opportunities for integrating elements of transformational adaptation into national and regional development agendas to ensure inclusive and sustainable outcomes.
5. Draw elements from successful adaptation practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches applied which are likely to support transition towards a transformational adaptation.

APAN Forum provides an excellent opportunity for us to share knowledge and learnings derived from a very wide range of climate change actions in the region as well as contribute to enhance understanding of transformational adaptation.