World is underfunded for climate adaptation, says UN report

The world is getting further away from getting the money to help struggling countries adapt to the increasingly dangerous impacts of climate change, according to a report released on Thursday.

In addition to finding the money and political will to reduce emissions and curb global warming, hundreds of billions of dollars are needed to protect countries from changes that have happened much faster than scientists had predicted.

Current international funding flowing to developing countries is between five and ten times less than needed, the United Nations Environment Program report said.

In 2020, the money set aside by donor nations to help the poorest countries adapt to climate change was just $29 billion — far below the $340 billion a year that could be needed by 2030.

“It’s time for a global climate adaptation review,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a press release, noting that he called on green climate funds to work with public and private financial entities to pilot a new accelerator for investment. in adaptation.

The accelerator will help funders work with developing countries to invest in their adaptation priorities and specific projects.

Adaptation funds are often applied to programs such as improving food security by planting heat- and drought-resistant crops or into infrastructure such as dams to help control rising waters.

At the UN climate summit in Glasgow last year, developed countries agreed to double support for adaptation funding to $40 billion a year by 2025.

At COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, starting November 6, countries “must present a credible roadmap with clear milestones on how this will be delivered — preferably as grants rather than loans,” Guterres said.

Africa, in particular, has struggled to respond to worsening weather conditions. Current annual spending on adaptation on the continent is $11.4 billion — or about 40% of all climate finance, according to a report by the Global Center for Adaptation, an international solutions broker based in the Netherlands. Fulfilling the countries’ emissions pledges would require an additional US$41 billion per year.

“Adaptation funding is growing too slowly to close the investment gap in Africa,” said Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the centre. One of the main projects to tackle this shortfall is the Accelerated Adaptation in Africa Programme, which seeks to raise $25 billion for countries over the next three years.

It is “the best vehicle we have to ensure that Africa’s adaptation investment gap is addressed with action from all available sources, including the private sector,” Verkooijen said.