National Implementation Programme on Climate Adaptation (NUPKA)

Laws and Policies

CCLW

CCLW national policies

National Climate Adaptation Strategy

Law passed

The National Climate Adaptation Strategy (NAS) was the Dutch answer to the call from the European Commission to all member states to create an adaptation strategy no later than 2017. The NAS included four diagrams (hotter, wetter, drier, and rising sea level) to visualise the effects of climate change on nine different sectors. The NAS 2016 was evaluated in 2022. In order to accelerate the implementation of the NAS 2016, a new report was published in 2023, titled “the National Implementation Programme on Climate Adaptation" in Dutch shortened to the "NUPKA". This document shows what measures have already been undertaken for the upcoming years, and which measurements are still necessary. It shows the implementation and speeding up of the NAS. In 2026 the new “NAS” will be published.&nbsp;
The NUPKA (2023) states, for instance, that every development in the Netherlands from now on must take into account sea level rise, increasing heat, longer periods of drought, and more extreme rainfall. It also discusses that policies to make the Netherlands “climate proof” need to be more intelligent, intensive, and inclusive.
The NUPKA pays special attention to the following four domains:
<ol>
<li>Water: protection against sea-level rise and flooding</li>
<li>Agriculture, nature, and the environment: climate robust agriculture, resilient nature, and preparations for climate risks</li>
<li>People and culture: heatproof cities, staying healthy in times of climate change, and protecting cultural heritage</li>
<li>Living and working: climate-adaptive buildings and climate-proof living, resilient infrastructure, and resistant waterways&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

National Climate Adaptation Strategy (NAS) 

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, that enables individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.

Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Actions to adapt human health, healthcare systems and well-being to climate change.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Activities that provide lodging, food, and entertainment services to guests, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts.

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

A financial institution that manages a country's currency and can promote climate-related initiatives through green monetary policy and other means.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Action or measure that increases resilience of societal, cultural and natural heritage to climate change impacts.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

This sector provides communication services, software development, and IT solutions.

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Finance that is primarily directed towards climate change adaptation, including increasing resilience and robustness to actual or expected climate change and its effects.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Actions to adapt and increase the resilience of rural and urban infrastructure and settlements to climate change.

Any substance with chemical properties that can cause physical harm to people or damage the environment, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, phosphine, chlorine, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, pesticides, dioxins, microplastics, benzene, asbestos, aflatoxins, fluoride, methanol, and toxins from marine sources.

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Social protection systems consist of policies that help people manage social risks in order to prevent poverty and maintain decent incomes and living standards

A loan is a policy instrument where funds are provided to a borrower with the expectation of repaying the principal plus interest.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

The National Climate Adaptation Strategy (NAS) was the Dutch answer to the call from the European Commission to all member states to create an adaptation strategy no later than 2017. The NAS included four diagrams (hotter, wetter, drier, and rising sea level) to visualise the effects of climate change on nine different sectors. The NAS 2016 was evaluated in 2022. In order to accelerate the implementation of the NAS 2016, a new report was published in 2023, titled “the National Implementation Programme on Climate Adaptation" in Dutch shortened to the "NUPKA". This document shows what measures have already been undertaken for the upcoming years, and which measurements are still necessary. It shows the implementation and speeding up of the NAS. In 2026 the new “NAS” will be published.&nbsp;
The NUPKA (2023) states, for instance, that every development in the Netherlands from now on must take into account sea level rise, increasing heat, longer periods of drought, and more extreme rainfall. It also discusses that policies to make the Netherlands “climate proof” need to be more intelligent, intensive, and inclusive.
The NUPKA pays special attention to the following four domains:
<ol>
<li>Water: protection against sea-level rise and flooding</li>
<li>Agriculture, nature, and the environment: climate robust agriculture, resilient nature, and preparations for climate risks</li>
<li>People and culture: heatproof cities, staying healthy in times of climate change, and protecting cultural heritage</li>
<li>Living and working: climate-adaptive buildings and climate-proof living, resilient infrastructure, and resistant waterways&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

National Implementation Programme on Climate Adaptation (NUPKA)

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance