Climate Change Adaptation Network
The “Climate Change Adaptation Network” brings together federal government, cantons, communes, cities, the business and scientific communities, and civil society, promoting dialogue on solutions and strategies for adapting to climate change.
Climate Change Adaptation Network: news and publications
The aim of the Adaptation Network is to work with key stakeholders to share experiences, discuss critical matters, compile best practices and draw up concrete recommendations on urgent enforcement issues.
More frequent and intense precipitation, heatwaves and summer droughts are some of the effects of climate change that can already be seen today. Switzerland must start adapting more quickly and extensively to the consequences of climate change. This is the only way to restrict damage and improve the resilience of natural, human and economic systems.
Goal: Working together to find better solutions more quickly
The Federal Council’s adaptation strategy, which was introduced in 2012 and fleshed out in action plans, is currently being updated. The new version will show how the challenges of adapting to climate change will be tackled from 2026. In order to reach as many relevant stakeholder groups as possible and coordinate adaptation activities with them, the federal government launched the “Adaptation Network” in 2025. The legal bases for this network are Article 8 of the Climate and Innovation Act (ClA) and Articles 28 and 29 of Climate Protection Ordinance (ClO).
“The Adaptation Network” brings together representatives from the federal government, cantons, municipalities, cities, the business and scientific communities, and civil society. This means that stakeholders who were previously not actively involved in implementing the adaptation strategy can now also be approached.
The network supports knowledge sharing between stakeholders, as well as enabling strategies and principles to be harmonised and coordinated between and within different levels of government (Confederation, cantons and communes).
Strategic management of the Adaptation Network is handled by the steering group, which is managed by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). The network’s activities and results are presented in a short annual report, and key resolutions are periodically published in summary form:
Climate Change Adaptation Network: news and publications
Governance
Within the network, the content-related work is carried out in committees whose activities are designated and approved by the steering group. The institutions involved in the network incorporate the results, basic principles and strategies into their own organisations and networks. Involvement in the network has no effect on the governance of the participating institutions – in other words, participants retain all of their rights, obligations and decision-making competences.
Extending existing solutions, introducing new approaches
Results and proposals from the network are also incorporated into the strategic considerations of the adaptation to climate change funding programme Adapt +. The aims of the funding programme are to introduce and extend innovations for adapting to climate change and to ensure that suitable measures are implemented more quickly on a broad scale.
Adaptation to climate change funding programme – Adapt+
Working methods
The network’s tasks are performed by the following committees:
- The steering group, consisting of 14 members, is responsible for strategic leadership. Its responsibilities include appointing the working groups and receiving their results.
- Ad hoc working groups deal with practical solutions to specific issues, particularly in relation to the priority topics (“heat stress” and “summer droughts”).
- Information and harmonisation at all levels and in all specialist areas are promoted through coordination and dialogue forums, e.g. as part of the conference for coordination between the cantons and the FOEN or the Forum “Hitze und Gesundheit”.
- In order to strengthen knowledge transfer toward implementation, webinars and other forms of dialogue are organised as required.