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Climate adaptation finance needs 10-18 times more than current funds:UN
These adaptation costs are projected to rise significantly by 2050 because of growing climate risk. These are estimated to be US$387 billion per year during this decade
New Delhi: Despite record breaking temperatures and severe climate extremes impacting several parts of the world, available adaptation finance is nowhere close to what is needed, a new United Nations report has flagged.
The adaptation finance gap is, in fact, widening and now stands between US$194 billion and US$366 billion per year, the United Nations Environment Programme’s “Underfinanced. Underprepared” report said on Thursday.
Adaptation finance needs are 10–18 times as great as current international public adaptation finance flows--at least 50% higher than previously estimated, the report has added.
Estimated adaptation costs and needs for developing countries are also significantly higher than previous estimates, with a central range of US$215 billion to US$387 billion per year this decade, UNEP has estimated.
Adaptation is the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
These adaptation costs are projected to rise significantly by 2050 because of growing climate risks.The report has also assessed the adaptation finance needed to implement domestic adaptation priorities. These are estimated to be US$387 billion per year during this decade. The estimated new range of US$215 billion to US$387 billion per year is equivalent to between 0.6% and 1% of all developing countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) combined.
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On the contrary, international public climate finance flows to developing countries decreased by 15% to US$21.3 billion in 2021 after having increased to US$25.2 billion between 2018 and 2020. Mitigation finance however continuously increased over the same period. International public adaptation finance over the past five years has also suffered from a low disbursement ratio, at 66%, as compared to the overall development finance disbursement ratio of 98%.
“In 2023, climate change yet again became more disruptive and deadly: temperature records toppled, while storms, floods, heatwaves and wildfires caused devastation,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP in a statement.
“These intensifying impacts tell us that the world must urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase adaptation efforts to protect vulnerable populations. Neither is happening.Even if the international community were to stop emitting all greenhouse gases today, climate disruption would take decades to dissipate,” she added.
Five out of six countries have at least one national adaptation planning instrument, the UNEP said but the number of adaptation actions supported through international climate funds has stagnated for the past decade.
The report points to a study indicating that the 55 most climate-vulnerable economies alone have experienced losses and damages of more than US$500 billion in the last two decades due to losses and damages experienced. These costs will rise steeply in the coming decades, particularly in the absence of forceful mitigation and adaptation.
Global average temperatures are already exceeding 1.1 degree C above pre-industrial levels; current plans reflected in the NDCs are putting us on a path towards 2.4 degree C–2.8 degree C by the end of the century.
“Failure to reinvigorate investments in adaptation action will inevitably lead to more unabated climate impacts and subsequent loss and damage. This will make debt-ridden developing countries even more vulnerable to climate-related extreme events and slow-onset changes,” the report added.
UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres asked rich nations and fossil fuel companies to pay up for adaptation.
“Developed countries must present a clear roadmap to double adaptation finance as promised –prioritizing grants over loans – as a first step towards devoting half of all climate finance to adaptation. Multilateral Development Banks should also allocate at least 50% of climate finance to adaptation, and change their business models to mobilize far more private finance to protect communities from climate extremes,” he said on Tuesday.
“Fossil fuel barons and their enablers have helped create this mess; they must support those suffering as a result. I call on governments to tax the windfall profits of the fossil fuel industry, and devote some of those funds to countries suffering loss and damage from the climate crisis,” he added.
