Mainstreaming climate adaptation in Switzerland: How the national adaptation strategy is implemented differently across sectors

Due to few comparative studies, explanations for differences in adaptation mainstreaming between sectors remain widely unclear. The article analyzes how adaptation mainstreaming was approached during the development of the Swiss National Adaptation Strategy and to what extent adaptation objectives were mainstreamed into sectoral policies. The analysis reveals that in Switzerland, adaptation objectives are integrated more substantially into sectoral policies when they overlap with primary sectoral objectives but generally backing by organizational and procedural measures is lacking. The results suggest a similar pattern for adaptation mainstreaming as for EPI: While policy frameworks such as strategies are adopted rather easily, a move towards more binding measures that interfere with sectoral policy-making and the existing institutional structure is much more challenging. In contrast to environmental concerns, climate change impacts are expected to be considered more substantially resulting in a more substantive mainstreaming of adaptation objectives and measures on a sectoral level. As these measures might negatively affect other sectors, the main challenge of adaptation mainstreaming is to consistently address the cross-cutting nature of adaption and to establish procedures to coordinate sectoral measures in order to avoid such negative externalities.