The need to accelerate the climate adaptation process has become increasingly evident as devastating climate impacts are more widely experienced, but climate action remains deficient. Climate adaptation is typically associated with three key types of enabling conditions whose presence is deemed necessary but not sufficient for climate action: governance capacity, access to finance, and relevant and appropriate knowledge. In this article, we present and examine another component of the adaptation process: catalysts. Catalysts are elements whose presence leads to an initiation or acceleration of climate action. Catalysts or catalyzing conditions can complement enabling conditions by overcoming conditions that block climate action or keep it at minimal levels. This article focuses on the presence and influence of catalysts within the adaptation process and presents four types of catalyzing conditions. Each type is documented with a case study that illustrates how climate action, generally and adaptation, specifically was advanced. The types and the associated cases include (1) a sense of urgency—the recent water crisis of Cape Town; (2) extreme events—Hurricane Sandy in New York City; (3) political innovators—Mayor Anne Hidalgo of Paris; and (4) climate litigation—legal action in the Netherlands. We examine the mechanisms through which these four types of catalysts link with ongoing adaptation processes. In particular, these catalyzing conditions mobilize resources, specifically political support, financing, and information, by making adaptation action a higher priority within political and civic agendas. Catalysts also can contribute to the building of networks and coalitions between organizations whose ties had previously been weak or absent. In the conclusion, recommendations for future research to further clarify how catalysts advance adaptation action are suggested.

中文翻译：

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催化剂在气候适应过程中的作用


随着破坏性气候影响的更广泛化，加快气候适应过程的必要性越来越明显，但气候行动仍然不足。气候适应通常与三种关键类型的有利条件有关，这些条件的存在被认为对气候行动是必要的，但不是充分的：治理能力、获得资金的渠道以及相关和适当的知识。在本文中，我们介绍并研究了适应过程的另一个组成部分：催化剂。催化剂是导致气候行动启动或加速的元素。催化剂或催化条件可以通过克服阻碍气候行动或将其保持在最低水平的条件来补充有利条件。本文重点介绍催化剂在适应过程中的存在和影响，并提出了四种类型的催化条件。每种类型都记录了一个案例研究，说明了气候行动（一般和适应）是如何推进的。类型和相关案例包括 （1） 紧迫感——开普敦最近的水危机;（2） 极端事件——纽约市的飓风桑迪;（3） 政治创新者——巴黎市长安妮·伊达尔戈 （Anne Hidalgo）;（4） 气候诉讼 - 在荷兰采取法律行动。我们研究了这四种类型的催化剂与正在进行的适应过程相联系的机制。特别是，这些催化条件通过使适应行动成为政治和公民议程中的更高优先级来调动资源，特别是政治支持、融资和信息。催化剂还可以促进以前关系薄弱或缺失的组织之间建立网络和联盟。 在结论中，提出了对未来研究的建议，以进一步阐明催化剂如何促进适应行动。