Transformational adaptation and country ownership: competing priorities in international adaptation finance

International climate finance is an integral part of the global climate policy regime. Because available adaptation finance is significantly below identified needs of developing countries, competition for scarce resources incentivises countries to design projects to align with funding priorities. One of the areas where this dynamic is particularly relevant is regarding transformational change. Transformational adaptation has risen on the climate policy agenda in recognition of the inadequacy of business-as-usual approaches, and the growing urgency of climate change. It is often characterized based on: (i) the intensity or quality of the change (depth); (ii) the distribution of change (breadth) and (iii) the timeframe through which a change occurs (speed). This study analyses how transformational adaptation is articulated in direct access proposals to the Green Climate Fund to assess compatibility between how transformation is conceptualized and the fund’s priority of country ownership. Our analysis reveals significant framing of transformation in terms of scalability and replicability of projects, resulting in an approach to transformational adaptation that emphasizes scalable techno-managerial solutions that extend beyond the project site over social and behavioural change at the local level. We argue that without greater attention to inclusive policies that centre on the most vulnerable, climate finance risks becoming another top-down development strategy that prioritizes adaptation strategies that are easily scalable rather than those that address local needs.Key policy insightsTransformational change has risen up the policy agenda, shaping the design of adaptation projects financed by the GCF.Direct access, a mechanism to enhance country ownership and ensure local priorities are represented in climate finance, may be insufficient to mitigate the tensions between the priorities of climate funds and local needs.Project proposals emphasize scalability and replicability in their conceptualisation of transformation.By privileging those aspects of transformational adaptation that can be easily scaled-up or replicated, GCF proposals frame transformation in terms of breadth and speed, rather than depth, resulting in a stronger emphasis on scalable techno-managerial solutions over social and behavioural change.