UNEP Report Reveals Adaptation Gaps Are Growing

“Climate impacts are accelerating. Yet, adaptation finance is not keeping pace, leaving the world’s most vulnerable exposed to rising seas, deadly storms, and searing heat,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his message on the report. Beyond the climate adaptation gaps, the report makes a few other stunning observations:

• A total of 172 out of 197 countries have a national adaptation plan, strategy, or policy in place. Out of the 25 that do not, only four have not started developing one.

• Adaptation plans of 36 countries have not been updated for a decade.

• The Glasgow Climate Pact goal of doubling adaptation finance from 2019 levels to $40 billion by 2025 is likely to be missed if current trends continue.

• Debt instruments are more popular, making adaptation finance unaffordable in the long run

• The target set under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) at COP29 in Baku — requiring developed countries to mobilise at least $300 billion per year by 2035 for climate action in developing nations, covering both adaptation and mitigation — is “insufficient.” When adjusted for inflation, the needs would increase to $440 billion annually.

• Private sector finance can help fill the gap, but its impact may be limited. The report projects up to $50 billion annually in private investment for climate adaptation—well above the current $5 billion.

Climate adaptation is expected to be a big talking point at the upcoming COP30, the planet’s largest climate talks, set for November in Belém, Brazil. COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, on Wednesday, 29 October, said adaptation won’t be “relegated to the background”.

Despite 172 countries having adaptation plans in place and climate disasters worsening each year, the persistent gap in adaptation finance has experts warning of a “fundamental breakdown of trust at COP30.”