UN report: Huge gap in financing adaptation to climate risks Environment and climate

He pointed out UN report The world will need to spend about $310 billion annually by 2035 to adapt to rising sea levels, floods, intensifying heat waves, and other phenomena resulting from climate change.

UNEP’s 2025 Adaptation Gap Report Out of Resources notes that as global temperatures rise and the impacts of climate change worsen, the adaptation financing gap in developing countries is putting lives, livelihoods and entire economies at risk.

According to the report, international public adaptation financing flows to developing countries will reach $26 billion in 2023, down from $28 billion the previous year, which “is already more than 12 times more than the funding they receive today to be able to adapt.”

The report indicated that the Glasgow Climate Pact, which aims to double public international financing for adaptation to about $40 billion by 2025, will not be achieved under current trends.

He stressed that previous climate conferences did not result in tangible increases in funding allocated for adaptation, compared to investments directed to emission reduction projects such as renewable energy and clean technologies.

The term climate adaptation refers to a set of measures and actions taken to respond to climate change, aiming to reduce its negative impacts on societies, economies and ecosystems.

Scientists believe that rising ocean temperatures lead to increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes, as well as higher rainfall rates and the risk of storms associated with sea level rise, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen adaptation measures.

In a message commenting on the report’s findings, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said that funding for adaptation is not keeping pace with accelerating climate impacts, making the world’s most vulnerable groups vulnerable to being harmed by “rising sea levels, deadly storms, and scorching heat.”

“This is not just a funding gap, it is a defect in global solidarity, one measured in flooded homes, damaged crops, stalled development and lives lost,” Guterres added.

The Secretary-General stressed that 30th United Nations Climate Conference COP30, scheduled in Belém, Brazil next month, must provide a global plan of action to ensure developing countries have the resources and capabilities needed to protect their people, enhance food and water security, and build resilience in all sectors of development.

He stressed that this includes the developed countries fulfilling their pledge to double adaptation financing, and all financial actors moving forward in implementing the road map from Baku (where the 29th climate conference was held) to Belém, Brazil, the location of the COP30 climate conference.

Guterres thus refers to mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, allocating a fair and stable share for adaptation, and ensuring that new financing does not lead to an increase in debt burdens.

Noting the role of the private sector, the Secretary-General said that profits from fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) should help “finance recovery from the damage they have caused.”

For his part, the head of the COP30 summit, Andre Correa do Lago, said in an interview with Reuters in Brasilia: “There is a general desire more than ever, among governments, cities and the public, to obtain resources allocated for adaptation.”