This brief argues that social protection initiatives are as much at risk from climate change as other development approaches. The authors think that these initiatives are unlikely to succeed in reducing poverty if they do not consider both the short and long-term shocks and stresses associated with climate change.

The authors introduce the concept of “adaptive social protection”. Their framework of adaptive social protection characterises social protection measures that acknowledge the changing nature of climate-related impacts, including the future existence of new conditions. The framework helps towards identifying and mitigating gaps between agendas, thereby encouraging the development of more comprehensive and appropriate approaches. The paper also acknowledges that one of the limitations to developing appropriate long-term adaptive social protection options is the uncertainty attached toclimate change impact modelling.