Barriers to Climate Adaptation: Economic Crises and the Limits of Readiness in 41 African Countries (1995–2019)

ABSTRACT Climate change poses severe challenges globally, with Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) among the most affected despite its minimal contribution to global emissions. This study examines how national economic crises are associated with climate change adaptation readiness across 41 SSA countries from 1995 to 2019, drawing on a political‐economy framework grounded in state capacity theory. Using panel data and two‐way fixed‐effects regressions, complemented by robustness checks with System GMM, the analysis shows a significant negative association between economic crises and adaptation readiness, with poorer SSA countries exhibiting a much stronger negative association than their wealthier counterparts. The economic and governance dimensions of readiness show the strongest negative associations, while social readiness has no significant association. These findings highlight that economic crises are closely linked to declines in adaptation capacity, underscoring the importance of maintaining sound public finances and implementing climate‐sensitive fiscal policies to support long‐term adaptation readiness in SSA.