The lack of knowledge on adaptation progress is associated with further measurement challenges, including that avoided impacts are difficult to measure and that risk levels change over time, meaning what is effective today may not be effective in the future . Moreover, adaptation is embedded in complex political and social realities where power and politics shape outcomes and where simplistic views of how adaptation would take place may be ill- conceived . In practice, this means that theories of change of adaptation projects may miss important causes of risks and could subsequently lead to inaccurate assessments . Measuring adaptation is therefore a matter of understanding drivers of vulnerability and risk and of designing responses and M&E systems accordingly .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report