New Climate Connectivity Taxonomy maps terms across climate adaptation fields

A new release of the Climate Connectivity Taxonomy is now available, according to Phys.org. The taxonomy was developed with support from the EU-funded FAIR2Adapt project. Phys.org reported that it is an AI- and human-curated collection of terms related to climate change and disaster risk. The release is a step toward solving the problem of climate knowledge that is hard to find, scattered across online platforms and described using inconsistent terminology, Phys.org reported.

Researchers, practitioners and policymakers working on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction often use different terms for closely related concepts, Phys.org reported. An adaptation practitioner might focus on 'adaptive capacity,' while a disaster risk specialist might talk about 'coping capacity' or 'preparedness.' According to Phys.org, these terms are related but not interchangeable, reflecting different perspectives, values, disciplines, timescales and ways of understanding risk. The taxonomy maps connections between terms while preserving their distinct meanings, rather than forcing diverse terminology into a single vocabulary.

According to Phys.org, the taxonomy powers the Climate Connectivity Hub, an online search and discovery tool. The hub aggregates knowledge from platforms including weADAPT, CORDIS, PreventionWeb, Climate-ADAPT and the Resilience Platform. It also powers an interactive glossary on weADAPT, a global platform for adaptation, where hovering over a highlighted term shows the term's definition. Phys.org reported that this could be useful for other platforms and could increase interoperability between them.

'We don't lack knowledge on climate adaptation. We struggle to connect it,' said Anne Fouilloux, FAIR2Adapt project coordinator and chief technology officer at LifeWatch ERIC. Fouilloux said the project is working to bridge gaps across disciplines, communities and platforms. She said the taxonomy is an example of how FAIR principles can help turn fragmented knowledge into knowledge that can be found, connected and reused.

Phys.org reported that the taxonomy was built using internationally recognized sources. These include the glossary from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and the Hazard Information Profiles developed by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the International Science Council. AI-assisted tools continuously harvest platform content to identify new terms, which human experts then verify before adding them to the taxonomy, according to Phys.org.

The taxonomy's scientific foundations are detailed in a peer-reviewed article published in February 2026 in the journal Climatic Change, according to Phys.org. The article is titled 'Scaling knowledge interoperability for accelerated climate action through the Climate Connectivity Hub and Taxonomy.' Phys.org listed Sukaina Bharwani, Kate Williamson and Adam Wangrat as its authors.