Mapping Sexual and Gender Minority Inclusion in National Adaptation Plans Globally

Mapping Sexual and Gender Minority Inclusion in National Adaptation Plans Globally | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Mapping Sexual and Gender Minority Inclusion in National Adaptation Plans Globally Sean Goodwin, Leo Goldsmith This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6870576/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience disproportionate climate impacts, yet no empirical analysis exists on their inclusion in adaptation planning. We ask: (1) To what extent are SGM included in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs)? and (2) How do legal and social status of SGM differ between countries that include or exclude them? We systematically map all available NAPs (or related documents in their absence, n = 256), analyzing inclusion across transformative capacity and climate justice. Of 198 UNFCCC member states, 23 mention SGM: 65% are SGM-sensitive (acknowledging disproportionate impacts on SGM), 26% SGM-responsive (taking action on impacts) and 9% SGM-transformative (addressing systemic drivers of impacts). Higher legal protections (p < 0.05) and positive public opinion (p < 0.01) are significantly correlated with inclusion of SGM in NAPs. Results highlight the need for collaborative, place-based SGM stakeholder engagement to inform adaptation planning, ensuring responses reflect local vulnerabilities and community priorities. Scientific community and society/Social sciences/Climate change/Climate change impacts/Governance Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Climate change/Climate change impacts/Governance Scientific community and society/Social sciences/Interdisciplinary studies Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation1.docx SupplementaryData1.csv Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 26 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 31 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 07 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Jun, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 17 Jun, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 16 Jun, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 14 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6870576","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":471195331,"identity":"374c9ffd-49bc-4811-bf0d-f1b37478d952","order_by":0,"name":"Sean Goodwin","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Basque Centre for Climate Change","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sean","middleName":"","lastName":"Goodwin","suffix":""},{"id":471195332,"identity":"fd29829c-bc8a-4de0-94ed-d3c7e004f0e5","order_by":1,"name":"Leo Goldsmith","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Yale University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Leo","middleName":"","lastName":"Goldsmith","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-11 10:08:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6870576/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6870576/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":84712912,"identity":"0fd96c1c-25e5-41e8-9a11-e54302547455","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-16 13:44:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":624637,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SGMNAPManuscriptv3.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6870576/v1_covered_dde9a321-b162-404f-9f05-830e0e272ac8.pdf"},{"id":84710581,"identity":"46517188-9eb0-4f23-97fd-14c21d7b76cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-16 13:20:04","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":38693,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Supplementaryinformation1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6870576/v1/d6afe4794f2bed0e925f77f0.docx"},{"id":84710577,"identity":"4b6df557-6dc4-4d5c-9431-9c117adbbeee","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-16 13:20:04","extension":"csv","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":28497,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryData1.csv","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6870576/v1/42be9577b77227aab7b2daff.csv"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Mapping Sexual and Gender Minority Inclusion in National Adaptation Plans Globally","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"npj-climate-action","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"npjclimataction","sideBox":"Learn more about [npj Climate Action](https://www.nature.com/npjclimataction)","snPcode":"44168","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/44168/3","title":"npj Climate Action","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"NPJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6870576/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6870576/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience disproportionate climate impacts, yet no empirical analysis exists on their inclusion in adaptation planning. 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