Limits to adaptation: Building an integrated research agenda

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment Report Working Group II report of (2022) has brought greater attention to the issue of limits to the capacity to adapt to climate change. But the report also showed that research in the field continues to be fragmented and under‐developed, and that the problem of limits is not widely considered in policy. In this paper, we argue for a more coherent, interdisciplinary approach to research on adaptation limits, linked to the concept of transformative adaptation. A risk‐based approach to adaptation limits offers a framework to deepen, broaden and connect research which responds to the needs of policymakers. We set out four promising directions for future research on: the dimensions of limits; the dynamics of limits; formalization of research on limits; and ethics and justice challenges underpinning adaptation limits. This article is categorized under: Climate Economics > Economics and Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Learning from Cases and Analogies Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Climate Change and Global Justice Research on climate adaptation limits is fragmented and under‐developed. We argue for a more coherent, interdisciplinary approach to research on limits. A risk‐based approach offers a framework to deepen, broaden and connect research, responding to the needs of policymakers. We set out four promising directions for future research on: the dimensions of adaptation limits; the dynamics of limits; formalization of research on limits; and ethics and justice challenges underpinning limits.