Nature Climate Change, Published online: 24 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s41558-026-02720-yAssessing the status of adaptation is important to target support and determine priority gaps. Here I look back on an influential 2021 study that reported a systematic review of evidence of implemented human adaptation and consider how this underscored the imperative for greater policy action and spawned methodological advancements in how to track adaptation progress.