Global society continues to seek sustainable ways to respond to climate change more efficiently and effectively. In particular, technology has been recognized as one of the essential enabling elements for adapting to climate change: finance, technology, and knowledge of management practices (UNEP, 2014; IPCC, 2015). In this regard, climate technologies started receiving global attention since 1992, and earnest efforts began in 2010 by establishing the Technology Mechanism led by UNFCCC in order to guide and support to develop and transfer technologies for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, the Technology Framework was established with the aim to guide the linework of the Technology Mechanism in supporting international, national, and regional institutions to achieve targets set by the agreement for both mitigation and adaptation (UNFCCC, 2019). A recent IPCC special report (2019) also implies that many things need to be done in both mitigation and adaptation in order to achieve the 1.5 °C target. Global investments, however, have given much more attention to mitigation actions than adaptation, and it was also the case in technologies (Wheeler, 2008; Aylett, 2015; CPI, 2019; iied, 2018). 

Adaptation cost estimates by 2050 have increased from USD 70 billion-100 billion to  USD 280 billion-500 billion a year (UNEP, 2016). On the other hand, a significant level of return on investments in adaptation is expected according to the recent report by the Global Commission on Adaptation (2019). The report indicated that investments of USD 1.8 trillion in adaptation could bring USD 7.1 trillion of net benefits by 2030 in five areas: early warning systems; infrastructure resilience; dryland agriculture crop production; mangroves protection; and resilient water resources management. Investments in technologies and R&D are showing an upward trend in grants from governments, and non-profit sectors. The UK allocated GBP 1 billion in research on climate solutions (CPI, 2019). 

As local level efforts play key roles for adapting to climate change, cities need to identify climatic challenges and seek ways to respond to them considering local conditions. UNFCCC (2006) stated in its special technical report that adaptation activities involve diverse forms of technology, including knowledge and materials science. It is necessary to develop and take into practice in-demand technologies in developing countries and vulnerable groups. Furthermore, the effective use of technologies is determined by local circumstances, such as institutional, regulatory, social, and cultural conditions (IPCC, 2015).