Taxonomy

Tailwind Taxonomy for Adaptation and Resilience Investments

The Tailwind Taxonomy for Adaptation and Resilience Investments is a pioneering classification and exploration framework designed to empower philanthropic and early-stage public and private investors to identify and support adaptation and resilience projects and companies. The Taxonomy highlights climate adaptation needs and opportunities across society and the economy, providing over 400 examples of investable solutions, financial instruments, and philanthropic interventions.

Download the Taxonomy and Companion Deck.

Themes and Sectors

The Taxonomy distills the complexities of climate adaptation and resilience into 8 overarching themes and 35 sectors, encompassing diverse areas such as Water and Sanitation, Ecosystems, and Industry and Commerce, including sectors like Healthcare Services and Medical Facilities, Financial Services, and Construction.

Investment Opportunities by Sector

The Tailwind Taxonomy is a classification and exploration tool. It should be used in tandem with assessment criteria to determine whether individual projects or investments are, in fact, adaptation. We provide guidance to this effect in the Companion Deck.

The intended audience(s) of this taxonomy include:

• Investors, Donors and Researchers looking to classify projects, activities, solutions or companies in a structured, consistent set of themes and sub-themes of relevance to adaptation and resilience. 
• Investors and Donors looking to identify whether an existing or new project, company or product could have adaptation and resilience benefits.
• Anyone curious about climate adaptation and resilience, who is interested in understanding how climate change may impact different economic sectors, ecosystems, or society. Users can explore examples of technologies, products, services, financial and insurance products or enabling interventions that may help mitigate these impacts.

Example: Food, Agriculture and Forestry

In the Excel spreadsheet, we provide examples of solutions and investment opportunities for each sector, as illustrated below for Crop Production under Food, Agrictulture and Forestry.

Credits

The Taxonomy for Adaptation and Resilience Investments was developed by Tailwind with funding and support from ClimateWorks Foundation, and peer-reviewed by a broad group of investors and philanthropies for usability and completeness. Key partners in this effort include the Global Adaptation and Resilience Investor group (GARI)’s Climate Resilience Investment in Solutions Principles, the Climate Bonds Initiative’s Resilience Taxonomy, the Climate Policy Institute’s adaptation and Resilience Finance practice, and Vibrant Data Labs’ Climate Finance Tracker. Any error or omission is Tailwind’s sole responsibility.

Feedback and questions are welcome: info@tailwindclimate.com or via our Contact Form.

Downloads

The following documents can be downloaded and are openly licensed for non-commercial use via Creative Commons BY-NC 4.0. Contact us to discuss commercial use.

• Full Taxonomy (Excel Spreadsheet)
• Companion Deck (PDF)