Transformational Climate Policies for Mitigation and Adaptation: A Systematic Literature Review of Governance, Implementation, and Impact

This systematic literature review examines how recent transformational climate policies reconfigure institutions, power relations, and knowledge systems that sustain carbon‐intensive and climate‐vulnerable development. Synthesizing peer‐reviewed studies published in 2024–2025, it interprets evidence through polycentric governance, adaptive governance, social learning, and climate‐justice perspectives. The review finds that policies become transformational when they break path dependencies by redistributing decision‐making across levels, institutionalizing experimentation and iterative learning, and embedding equity and Indigenous knowledge in implementation. Many initiatives remain only partially transformational when participation is merely consultative, administrative capacity is weak, and local knowledge is marginalized or blocked from scaling. Across cases, the most durable outcomes combine emissions reduction, adaptive capacity, and socioeconomic co‐benefits, indicating that transformational climate policy is best understood as a governance shift that challenges incumbent structures while building resilient, justice‐centered systems for mitigation and adaptation.