Climate change mitigation and adaptation calls for complicated policy decisions impacting people. Current policy decision analysis in the policy development phase prioritizes economic, environmental, and technological concerns but frequently overlooks the critical role of human behavior in policy success. Individual choices significantly influence policy outcomes, often impacting its effectiveness due to behavioral aspects. This study uses a structured review of recent literature from 2020–2024 to understand the extent of behavioral considerations during the policy development and analysis stage and broadly during the overall policy design phase. PRISMA guidelines are used to identify and select the relevant literature. The results identify the state of behavioral inclusion mainly in the policy development phase, and challenges in current approaches toward this integration. Recommendations to integrate behavioral design in process integration and team formulation are proposed from the behavioral design perspective. This study underscores the critical role of human behavior in climate change adaptation and recommends incorporating behavioral insights into the climate policy-making process to enhance effectiveness and promote adaptive behaviors. In conclusion, this study seeks to bridge the gap between behavior design and behavioral science, thus helping to create more effective and sustainable climate change policies.