Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation
Indian Institute Of Technology Delhi

Around 2020-21, there was a growing recognition at the national level of the need for a dedicated institutional entity focusing exclusively on climate change adaptation across multiple sectors. With climate change impacts manifesting themselves in recent years, it became increasingly evident that climate science for adaptation and the science of adaptation-related research, policy support, and implementation required a focused and coordinated approach. The absence of a specialised entity to address sector-specific adaptation challenges underscored the necessity of establishing a centre that could generate evidence-based insights, support decision-making, and support the government in strengthening adaptive capacity in a systematic manner and this led to conversations between key actors of IIT Delhi and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recognised IIT Delhi as a potential lead institution to anchor this initiative. In 2022, MoEFCC made IIT Delhi the lead technical anchor institute for the preparation of the adaptation communication submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2023. Given IIT Delhi's strong interdisciplinary research ecosystem, technical expertise, and policy engagement experience, the Institute was envisioned to play a central role in conceptualising and advancing a national-level initiative on climate change adaptation. This marked a critical step in translating the identified need into a concrete institutional direction.

In 2023, the initiative progressed further with the Ministry proposing the formation of thematic working groups. This led to the preparation and presentation of the first formal Concept Note for a Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation (COE-CCA IITD). This concept note articulated the vision, objectives, and proposed scope of the Centre of Excellence, outlining its potential role in advancing adaptation research, fostering collaboration, and supporting policy processes and was further co-developed along with the MoEFCC and finalised in 2024. The initial funding for supporting the establishment of COE-CCA IITD IIT Delhi was provided by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

In July 2024, the steering committee for COE-CCA IITD IIT Delhi met for the first time on 23^rd July 2024 under the co-chairmanship of the Additional Secretary of MoEFCC, Mr. Naresh Pal Gangwar, and the director of IIT Delhi, Prof. Rangan Banarjee. The Steering Committee provided guidance on the initial steps and identified key research sectors—Water, Agriculture, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), and Human Health—for assessing the extent and effectiveness of climate change adaptation for COE-CCA IITD, IIT Delhi. The identification of these thematic areas reflects their critical importance in the context of climate risks and their relevance to long-term resilience planning. Deliberations during this phase helped refine the direction of the initiative and align it more closely with national adaptation priorities.

In 2025, the Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Adaptation (COE-CCA IITD), IIT Delhi moved into an active implementation phase, building on the direction provided by the Steering Committee. The Centre organised four sector-specific brainstorming workshops covering Water, Agriculture, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Physical Impacts of Climate Change to refine research priorities and review frameworks.

Based on these deliberations, sector-wise outlines were developed, and a stock-taking of existing literature on climate change impacts and adaptation was initiated to identify key knowledge gaps. To strengthen collaboration and national outreach, COE-CCA IITD began developing a Hub-and-Spoke institutional model, with partner identification underway in consultation with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).

During this phase, the Centre also expanded partnership discussions with relevant organisations, and launched a Lecture Series on Climate Change Adaptation, with three lectures conducted to support capacity building and knowledge dissemination.

Going forward, COE-CCA IITD will focus on completing sectoral adaptation reviews, operationalising collaborative networks, and strengthening evidence-based research and policy support for climate-change adaptation in India.