A recent United Nations report reveals a concerning trend in wealthy countries reducing their financial commitments to aid developing nations in addressing the challenges of climate change. Despite a growing necessity for increased support, funding for climate adaptation experienced a significant decline in 2021, reaching $21 billion. This marked a 15 percent drop from the previous year, largely attributed to financial strains on wealthy nations stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and other economic challenges.
Among the notable findings, the United States exhibited one of the most substantial reductions in climate adaptation assistance between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, the US allocated $129 million for climate adaptation, a sharp decline of 47 percent from the $245 million contributed in the previous year. This shift emphasizes the waning global commitment to climate adaptation efforts, despite the escalating environmental crisis.
The report underscores another aspect in which support from affluent nations is lacking: Just two-thirds of the pledged adaptation aid from wealthy nations for the period spanning from 2017 to 2021 has been effectively delivered.
Unmet targets
While efforts are underway to bolster financial support, not just for adaptation but also for various climate-related requirements collectively referred to as climate finance, progress has been slow. Developed countries had initially pledged, as far back as 2009, to mobilize a minimum of $100 billion annually in climate finance beginning in 2020. However, even three years after the deadline, this target remains unmet.
Meanwhile, the demand for climate finance has surged and is currently estimated to reach trillions of dollars each year, underlining the urgent need for accelerated action to address the growing climate crisis.
The release of this data precedes a significant United Nations climate conference scheduled to begin in Dubai in a few weeks. During this summit, providing aid to developing nations will be a primary focus of discussions.
At a similar gathering in Glasgow two years ago, participating countries committed to doubling their climate adaptation funding by 2025 compared to 2019 levels. However, even if nations fulfill this promise, the report highlights that it would only cover a fraction of the extra funding required.
Methodology
The latest evaluation, conducted by the UN Environment Programme in its Adaptation Gap Report, illustrates the growing disparity between the financial requirements and the actual resources available. This report examined the current demand for adaptation financing using two distinct approaches.
First, it compiled the needs expressed by countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), resulting in an estimated annual requirement of approximately $387 billion for this decade. Additionally, it performed a modeling exercise to assess the global adaptation needs and the corresponding financial support, which totaled about $215 billion annually during the same period.
These numbers are expected to increase significantly beyond this decade, given the rapid escalation of climate change-related risks. The report highlights that the adaptation finance gap, which represents the disparity between the estimated financial needs (ranging from $215 billion to $387 billion) and the actual available finance (amounting to $21.3 billion), continues to widen.
The adaptation gap now stands at least 10-18 times greater than the current international adaptation finance flows, exceeding previous estimates by more than 50 percent.