Assessment and good practices identification among NAPs of developing countries

National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are assuming a central role as a policy framework for adaptation, protecting from climate impacts if they thoroughly respond to risks. We present a comprehensive global review of all 60 NAPs submitted to the UNFCCC by developing country parties as of March 1st, 2025. Through the NAP-Good Practices Review Framework, plans are evaluated across the important dimensions of NAP-Coverage and NAP-Consistency. We find that, on average, NAPs contain three-quarters of the elements defining a good NAP—with higher scores for NAP-Consistency than NAP-Coverage. NAPs cover the factbase on vulnerabilities and risks well, followed by policies, goals, and implementation specifics. Developing robust monitoring and evaluation, participation, and finance components seems more difficult. We highlight good practices across all components of the NAP-GP framework, along with actionable, contextual policy recommendations to enhance the quality of NAPs, promote peer-to-peer exchange, and strengthen global adaptation efforts in alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement and its Global Goal on Adaptation.