Adapting Smart: Rethinking Climate Resilience Through Finance, Security, and Governance
This article examines the dual challenge of climate change—mitigation and adaptation—focusing on how policy can advance climate resilience. We argue that, while climate change presents a dual challenge of mitigation and adaptation, achieving robust climate resilience depends less on technological fixes alone and more on coherent, justice-centered policy frameworks that integrate scientific consensus, inclusive governance, and strategic finance, without defaulting to securitized paradigms. Drawing on foundational works such as William Nordhaus’s The Climate Casino and Wagner and Weitzman’s Climate Shock, along with insights from the IPCC and UNFCCC, the article reviews scientific consensus on escalating global temperatures, extreme weather events, and socioeconomic vulnerabilities. It identifies policy strategies to reduce risk and enhance adaptive capacity, including the development of National and Subnational Adaptation Plans (NAPs), strengthened financing mechanisms, and inclusive governance frameworks.
Emphasis is placed on risk transfer instruments like insurance, investments in resilient infrastructure, and the integration of both technological and nature-based solutions. Case studies from India’s Ahmedabad Heat Action Plan, the Netherlands’ adaptive water management, and Saudi Arabia exemplify context-specific adaptation success. The Article also critically assesses the implications of framing climate change as a national security issue. While security framing may increase urgency and resource mobilization, it risks marginalizing justice concerns and overemphasizing military responses. A balanced, inclusive approach is recommended—one that aligns climate adaptation with sustainable development and global equity. Ultimately, scaling finance, fostering multilevel governance, and resisting over-securitization are essential for effective, long-term climate resilience.
Recommended Citation: Rafael Leal-Arcas, Tariq Almaniya, Amal Alawdah, Moaz Alshehri, and Saad Al-Ruwayshid, Adapting Smart: Rethinking Climate Resilience Through Finance, Security, and Governance, 49 Fordham Int'l L.J. 97 (2026).