12 February 2026
Sustainable finance has been growing through experimentation, urgency and, sometimes, discomfort, driven by the widening gap between how financial systems traditionally value risk and how climate change is reshaping our world. Editing and curating this volume has reinforced the idea that adaptation finance is no longer a future concern: it is a present responsibility.
For many years, sustainable finance has understandably focused on mitigation, and reducing emissions remains essential and that work must continue. Yet as climate impacts accelerate, it has become clear that mitigation alone is not enough. Flooding, heat stress, drought and ecosystem degradation are already disrupting assets, communities and supply chains. The question facing finance today is not only how to prevent future harm, but how to live with, and respond to, the impacts already locked in.
This volume reflects that shift in thinking. The contributions demonstrate that adaptation finance is not a niche discipline or a technical add-on. The authors address housing, infrastructure, landscapes, ecosystems, financial institutions and professional practice itself. What emerges is a picture of adaptation as deeply local, often complex, and historically underfunded, but also increasingly investable when approached with creativity, credible metrics and long-term thinking.
Several articles challenge the assumption that adaptation cannot be monetised. By focusing on avoided losses, reduced volatility and long-term asset performance, they show how resilience can be translated into financial value. Others remind us that nature-based solutions (when supported by inclusive governance and appropriate financing structures) can function as critical infrastructure, delivering social, environmental and economic returns simultaneously.
Perhaps most striking is the reminder that resilience is not only about systems and capital, but about people. The inclusion of personal resilience for sustainability professionals acknowledges the emotional and human dimension of this work, and the importance of solidarity, storytelling and collaboration in sustaining progress.
This journal volume, and the ISEP Sustainable Finance Network that underpins it, asks policymakers, investors and practitioners to rethink how value is defined, how risk is priced and how decisions are made. It invites us to move adaptation from the margins to the mainstream of finance—and to recognise that building resilience is not simply about protecting what we have, but about shaping a future that can endure.
