Climate Adaptation Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean

Redacción HC
24/09/2025

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are on the front line of climate change impacts. Rising temperatures, increasingly frequent heatwaves and shifting rainfall patterns threaten ecosystems, infrastructure and livelihoods across the region. Despite the availability of climate data and policy frameworks, significant barriers remain to turning scientific knowledge into effective, equitable and sustainable adaptation actions.

This publication—based on the review by Cavazos et al. (2024)—examines the main scientific, institutional, social and financial obstacles to climate change adaptation in LAC and highlights pathways toward a truly resilient future.

Escalating Climate Risks

The region’s climatic impact drivers (CIDs) are becoming more severe. Key trends include steadily rising temperatures of 0.2–0.3 °C per decade, more frequent heatwaves, extreme rainfall events and sea-level rise. In 2023, global temperatures reached record highs, heightening the risk of prolonged droughts in the Southern Cone and more intense hurricanes in the Caribbean.

The economic toll is striking: between 1998 and 2017, over half of all global economic losses from climate-related disasters occurred in LAC. These figures expose a structural vulnerability threatening critical sectors such as agriculture, energy and public health.

Gaps in Knowledge and Scientific Capacity

Although the region has made progress in climate modeling and data production, observational records remain incomplete—particularly in key areas such as the Amazon and small coastal regions. Multidimensional metrics are lacking to translate climate information into actionable thresholds for agriculture, infrastructure or health.

The authors emphasize that “scientific research rarely translates into operational public policy” (Cavazos et al., 2024). Limited integration between the scientific community and policymakers hampers the use of available data for early warning systems or land-use planning.

Political, Social and Financial Barriers

Sustainable financing for adaptation remains scarce. Institutionally, cross-border coordination is weak and subnational governments often lack technical capacity to integrate adaptation into development plans. Social inequalities magnify the risks: Indigenous peoples, rural communities and coastal populations are the most exposed to extreme weather events.

The review stresses that climate justice and participatory governance are essential. Without active involvement of local communities, adaptation strategies risk being ineffective or unjust.

Toward Transformative Adaptation

To move from knowledge to action, the authors propose four strategic priorities:

1. Invest in observation and climate services: close data gaps through interoperable observatories and real-time monitoring systems.
2. Develop sector-specific risk indicators: create metrics with actionable thresholds to guide decisions in agriculture, health and water management.
3. Strengthen local capacities: train subnational technical teams to incorporate adaptation into urban and rural planning.
4. Innovate in climate finance: foster multi-scale funds, blended finance mechanisms and index-based insurance to sustain adaptation investments.

These measures require co-production of knowledge—scientists, authorities and communities working together to design policies that reduce disaster exposure, improve early warning systems and promote green infrastructure.

From Science to Action

Latin America and the Caribbean hold valuable scientific expertise, but real impact depends on translating that knowledge into effective policies. The region must shift from diagnosis to implementation—turning data into decisions and recommendations into scalable, fundable actions.

Adapting to climate change in LAC is not only an environmental imperative but also an opportunity to reimagine governance, strengthen social justice and secure sustainable development for future generations.

Topics of interest

Climate