Emerging evidence also suggests that many adaptation-labelled strategies may exacerbate existing poverty and vulnerability or introduce new inequalities, for example by affecting certain disadvantaged groups more than others, even to the point of protecting the wealthy elite at the expense of the most vulnerable . Pelling et al.  find that adaptation has been conceived and implemented in such a manner that most projects preserve rather than challenge the status quo. Specifically, the potential for knowledge and the goals of adaptation to be contested by different actors and stakeholders and the need to sustain progress over extended periods of time can constrain the ability to effectively implement actions that lead to sustainable development outcomes that are protected from the impacts of climate change while also delivering climate mitigation outcomes, that is, for CRD . This creates the possibility for specific adaptation actions to result in outcomes that undermine greenhouse gas mitigation and/or broader
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report