Within the Action Plan for Humanitarian Adaptation to Climate Change initiated by the German Federal Foreign Office a new and innovative framework to humanitarian action is developed, the forecast-based financing mechanism. This scientifically based funding system shall enable practitioners and donors to react faster to oncoming natural extreme events, while supporting local communities in adapting to increasing hazards by building up coping capacities. The German Red Cross coordinates the Action Plan for Humanitarian Adaptation to Climate Change with scientific support from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre. Partners of the forecast-based financing approach include the World Food Programme and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. In country-specific pilot studies carried out by the respective National Red Cross or Red Crescent Societies or other partners, such as WFP, forecast-based financing is implemented to gather practical expertise required to successfully utilize the approach in a broader context. The achievements and challenges in turn benefit experts tasked with developing the general approach in an interdisciplinary multi-stakeholder dialogue platform, consisting of scientists, governmental representatives, humanitarian aid workers and institutional actors.