Environ. Sci. Policy 81, 36–45 (2018)

The potential impact of climate change on developing countries has led to calls for mainstreaming climate concerns in development policy. The European Union (EU), as both a large international donor and climate leader, has committed to integrate climate change adaptation (CCA) into foreign aid projects. How, and if, this commitment is sustained across the policy cycle remains underexplored.

Credit: Costas Dumitrescu/Alamy Stock Photo

Frederik De Roeck and colleagues from Ghent University combine document analysis with semi-structured interviews with EU officials and country delegates responsible for delivering foreign aid to better understand how CCA is being integrated into development planning and implementation processes in the current aid cycle (2014–2020). They find that the EU Commission has partially integrated CCA and EU aid activities, focusing primarily on win–win solutions in sustainable agriculture, food security and rural development sectors. However, a lack of human resources has limited the use of an extensive toolbox for evaluating policy impacts and climate risks. Thus, despite the EU Commission’s effort to mainstream CCA, policymakers are not yet fully designing projects through a climate lens.