ACDI researchers to showcase actionable climate research at Adaptation Futures 2025
Next week, researchers from the African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) will participate in Adaptation Futures 2025, one of the leading international conferences on climate adaptation. Their collective contributions highlight ACDI’s focus on co-creating actionable knowledge, strengthening African research leadership, and advancing equitable, evidence-based approaches to climate resilience.
Strengthening adaptation through social innovation and cultural approaches
Professor Gina Ziervogel, ACDI researcher and Professor at the University of Cape Town, will contribute to several sessions. She will join the panel “Fostering Capacity for Transformative Climate Action in Cities,” drawing on participatory urban adaptation research, and “Levering Social Innovation to Adapt to Climate Change: Promises, Pitfalls and Pragmatics,” exploring how social innovation can drive inclusive climate solutions, as well as “The Complexity of Adapting to Climate Risk in Informal Settlements: Lessons and Future Directions” where she will present research from the Tuwe Pamoja project.
In addition, she will present ACDI’s Climate Adaptation Innovation Lab (CAILab) at the Adaptation Fund Innovation Days session “Culture for Innovation: Adapting with Warm Data,” highlighting CAILab’s approach to connecting people, ideas, and contexts to foster locally grounded adaptation innovation.
Advancing climate resilient development pathways in cities
Dr Anna Taylor, an ACDI researcher and co-designer of the panel “Learning from Practice: Climate Resilient Development Pathways Planning in Cities and Settlements,” will share experiences on operationalising Climate Resilient Development Pathways (CRDP) in cities across Africa, Europe, Australasia and North America. The panel will explore how CRDP can help urban areas align adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development goals, and strengthen a growing community of practice for transformative urban resilience.
Co-creating knowledge through the African Synthesis Centre (ASCEND)
Dr Farai Kapfudzaruwa, Head of Team Science at ACDI’s African Synthesis Centre for Climate Change, Environment and Development (ASCEND), will lead a co-creation session titled “African Synthesis Centre for Climate Change, Environment and Development (ASCEND): Accelerating actionable research on climate change.” The event will introduce ASCEND as a platform for advancing transdisciplinary synthesis research led by Global South teams. It will highlight how ASCEND is reshaping research collaboration by linking diverse disciplines, knowledge systems, and communities to deliver actionable insights for climate and development policy.
Climate adaptation and health research in action
Dr Vuyisile Moyo, part of ACDI’s HABVIA project team, will take part in the Knowledge Café session “Controlled Trials (and Tribulations) of Climate Adaptation Interventions for Human Health and Well-being.” Joined by Professor Mark New and Michaela Deglon, the session will explore lessons from implementing adaptation trials with human cohorts and discuss the ethical and methodological challenges of climate–health research.
Vuyisile will also present his paper “Cool roofs as future innovation: A case of how adolescents are cooling their homes, minds, and educational performance in Cape Town, South Africa,” and an associated Innovation Spotlight, both focusing on youth-led adaptation interventions that improve well-being and educational outcomes in vulnerable urban settings.
Empowering local adaptation through community partnerships
Darlington Sibanda, a researcher at ACDI, will contribute to sessions highlighting the importance of community engagement and co-production in adaptation research through work on the ACAMI project. The research focuses on how local partnerships and inclusive planning processes can strengthen resilience in African cities. Drawing on his experience with participatory adaptation projects, Darlington will share insights into the mechanisms that enable effective collaboration between communities, researchers and policymakers to ensure that adaptation strategies are locally relevant and sustainable.
During a hands-on activity session, the ACAMI team, including Darlington and ACDI researcher Nadine Methner, will present “Olata”: The Organizational Learning for Accelerating Transformative Adaptation Game (led by Hallie Eakin), which was developed as one of the key outputs for the project.
Framing climate resilience and development pathways for Africa
Dr Nick Simpson, ACDI researcher, explores how climate adaptation can be better integrated into the systems that shape people’s daily lives—from classrooms and cultural heritage to development practice. His first presentation reviews how rising heat affects learning outcomes in lower-income countries, urging climate-proofed education and equitable adaptation. The second, a co-creation session on heritage adaptation, brings together global experts to identify actionable solutions and integrate diverse knowledge across cultural contexts. The third convenes practitioners to operationalise Climate Resilient Development, focusing on governance, collaboration, and transformative change. Together, these sessions demonstrate how cross-sectoral, knowledge-rich approaches can accelerate adaptation for resilient and inclusive futures, and the exciting work coming for ACDI’s Climate Risk Lab.
Showcasing African leadership in global adaptation research
Through these contributions, ACDI researchers will highlight Africa’s growing role in shaping global adaptation discourse. From synthesis research and transdisciplinary co-creation to social innovation, health-focused adaptation, and climate-resilient development planning, their collective work demonstrates how African-led research can inform practical, just, and sustainable climate solutions worldwide.