The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Ruffe, whose nation hosted the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, was one of many leaders to advance critical shifts toward adaptation. Photo by EU2016 SK/Flickr The Netherlands hosted the Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) 2021, marking the first time world leaders gathered at a global event focused solely on adaptation and resilience. As a platform for new commitments and renewed affirmations, CAS served as a key steppingstone to other major climate events throughout 2021, including November’s COP26 in Glasgow. The summit came at a time as climate impacts are accelerating around the world, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities. In the last two decades, natural disasters linked to extreme weather accounted for 475,000 deaths and $2.6 trillion in damages. Many countries are still falling well behind targets set by the Paris Agreement and failing to adequately support countries most affected by climate change.