101 Maladaptation refers to actions that may lead to increased risk of adverse climate-related outcomes, including via increased greenhouse gas emissions, increased or shifted vulnerability 
to climate change, more inequitable outcomes, or diminished welfare, now or in the future. Most often, maladaptation is an unintended consequence. See Annex I: Glossary.
2.3.2. Adaptation Gaps and Barriers 
Despite progress, adaptation gaps exist between current 
levels of adaptation and levels needed to respond to impacts 
and reduce climate risks (high conﬁdence). While progress in 
adaptation implementation is observed across all sectors and regions 
(very high conﬁdence), many adaptation initiatives prioritise immediate 
and near-term climate risk reduction, e.g., through hard ﬂood protection, 
which reduces the opportunity for transformational adaptation99 (high 
conﬁdence). Most observed adaptation is fragmented, small in scale, 
incremental, sector-speciﬁc, and focused more on planning rather than 
implementation (high conﬁdence). Further, observed adaptation is 
unequally distributed across regions and the largest adaptation gaps 
exist among lower population income groups (high conﬁdence). In the 
urban context, the largest adaptation gaps exist in projects that manage 
complex risks, for example in the food–energy–water–health nexus or 
the inter-relationships of air quality and climate risk (high conﬁdence). 
Many funding, knowledge and practice gaps remain for effective 
implementation, monitoring and evaluation and current adaptation 
efforts are not expected to meet existing goals (high conﬁdence). 
At current rates of adaptation planning and implementation the 
adaptation gap will continue to grow (high conﬁdence). {WGII SPM C.1, 
WGII SPM C.1.2, WGII SPM C.4.1, WGII TS.D.1.3, WGII TS.D.1.4} 
Soft and hard adaptation limits100 have already been reached in 
some sectors and regions, in spite of adaptation having buffered 
some climate impacts (high conﬁdence).