Since cities are both a key source of greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, many are starting to take actions to mitigate and confront the anticipated effects. Latin America and the Caribbean, the most urbanized region worldwide after North America, are no exception. This contribution studies the state of adaptation strategies of two Latin American agglomerations: São Paulo and Santiago de Chile. The article, first, characterizes the adaptation efforts of the two cases based on local climate conditions with respect to actors, priorities and approaches. Second, it derives particular implementation challenges. It shows that each of the two approaches has distinct advantages as well as constraints. Common to both approaches is the challenge of preparing local governance for the long term risks of climate change. The research is based on a review of official documents, expert interviews, literature reviews and analysis of statistical data.