This past year broke two records: it was among the hottest ever, and it saw the most climate-related disasters, causing $417 billion in damages. Yet less than 10% of global climate finance goes towards strategies and solutions to protect us from a changing climate. Climate adaptation is underfunded, deprioritized, and often overlooked. It is seen as complex, local, and secondary to mitigation.
The goal with this project was to increase visibility and awareness of climate adaptation in the lead-up to/at COP30. Launched in October 2025, Adapt2Win aimed to move climate adaptation to the forefront and present it as a driver of economic innovation, resilience, and shared prosperity.
To break the climate "bubble," we identified global elite athletes as ideal amplifiers: their professions are directly impacted by climate change. They are trusted by fans and demonstrate adaptation daily. They also offer unique reach and scale to bypass “subjective” media restrictions, enabling Adapt2Win to reach a broader public—driving demand for greater leadership action.
Too often, climate communications are complicated, insular, and compete for the “smartest voice in the room.” They frequently focus on pledges for the future with a 2030 or 2050 horizon, neglecting the need for action now. Adapt2Win seeks to change that by expanding the diversity and influence of champions advocating for urgent action today.
Climate adaptation has been chronically underfunded, continuously deprioritized, and has not cut through in the media. It is dismissed as complex, hard to quantify, geographically specific, and a distraction from the issue of climate mitigation. The result: less than 10% of climate finance currently goes to adaptation.
Our film depicts the extreme weather challenges affecting athletes lives and livelihoods — connecting how we win when we adapt. We recruited 40 elite athletes across 14 countries, reaching 42M+ followers, to push for stronger leadership and investment in climate adaptation. Participants included NBA player DeAndre Jordan; Brazilian big-wave surfer Maya Gabeira; acclaimed U.S. ballerina Misty Copeland; professional British footballers Raheem Sterling and Beth Mead; Thai mixed martial artist Stamp Fairtex; Kenyan Olympic sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala; and more. Athletes were selected for both reach and relevance.
A modest 5-week paid media flight targeted global policy makers and leaders who would be present at COP30. A double page spread ran in The Economist in the lead-up to COP30 signed by Adapt2Win athletes and the campaign highlighted innovative, real-world solutions from communities across Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Kenya, and Brazil, illustrating how investment in adaptation can protect lives, strengthen economies, and secure a sustainable future for all.
Athletes provided direct-to-camera posts speaking directly to COP30 leaders about the importance of climate adaptation to their sport, their countries, and their communities. The campaign secured an exclusives with Reuters, endorsement from the COP30 Presidency, as well as an op-ed in The Guardian by UK footballer Beth Mead.
A significant challenge emerged when Meta classified Adapt2Win’s paid media placement as “political,” blocking distribution in Europe. The team responded quickly by reallocating resources to other platforms, including YouTube and Reddit, while increasing emphasis on earned media and athlete-owned channels. This pivot ensured continued reach and reinforced the campaign’s credibility through organic amplification.
The campaign launch also coincided with Hurricane Melissa making landfall in the Caribbean Sea on October 29, 2025, which affected deeper engagement with some high-profile athletes. This was beyond our control and was managed with sensitivity.
In just five weeks, Adapt2Win successfully increased the visibility, legitimacy, and cultural relevance of climate adaptation. The campaign generated more than 700 million total impressions, including 308 million earned media impressions across 212 placements. Coverage spanned outlets such as Forbes, The Guardian, and Esporte News Mundo, helping establish Adapt2Win as a credible new voice in the climate space.
Audience engagement exceeded benchmarks for the newly launched climate platform. Across paid and organic channels, the campaign delivered 26.2 million video views with a 90% completion rate, indicating strong resonance with audiences. The campaign also drove 565,000 website visits and 1.6 million actions, demonstrating sustained interest beyond initial exposure.
The campaign achieved real-world influence, securing public endorsements from the COP30 Presidency; Julia Gillard (Chair of the Wellcome Trust and former Prime Minister of Australia); professional footballer Raheem Sterling; and others. Most importantly, while significant gaps remain in adaptation finance, negotiators made progress toward the goal of tripling adaptation funding by 2035.
Adapt2Win united diverse partners at a time of global division, engaging 15 partners, including the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, TomorrowNow, Seed Global Health, Embrapa, and Ação da Cidadania, among others. Following the launch, additional organizations across sport, climate, data, science, and weather have reached out to collaborate.
These results reinforced a key learning: athletes provide clout, credibility, and accessibility, enabling climate adaptation to break through technical and policy-heavy discourse, raise visibility, and place a clear emphasis on the urgency of action today. Adapt2Win continues into 2026.
