Improving climate policy in Jordan

Jordan is one of the most water-scarce nations in the world and faces escalating climate change impacts, which will exacerbate drought risk while simultaneously increasing vulnerability to flooding and heatwaves. These impacts pose significant threats to the country's achievement of its development objectives and will have far-reaching implications for Jordan's water resources, agriculture, and overall economic stability. The twin objectives of building resilience to these risks and tackling underlying vulnerabilities unites climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts. In this evidence paper we analyze CCA and DRR policy in Jordan across five action areas: policy; knowledge; organization; stakeholders; and finance. Our analysis shows that the Government of Jordan, alongside national and international stakeholders, have taken important first steps in developing a strong and integrated approach to CCA and DRR, but that significant gaps remain. In response to these findings, we make six overarching recommendations, containing 23 suggested actions that can accelerate progress of CCA and DRR in Jordan.