Calls for Cop27 to scale up adaptation finance to help countries avoid ‘knockout blows’ from climate shocks

The worsening impacts of the climate crisis will outstrip the ability to provide protection for the vulnerable, unless there is a rapid increase in financial assistance to them, according to a UN report.

This rapid scaling up of funding must provide for adaptations to build resilience for inevitable outcomes from a warming world, according to a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Global efforts in adaptation planning, financing and implementation are not keeping pace with the growing risks, and this will lead to “knockout blows” to future generations in climate-vulnerable countries, it warns in its latest “adaptation gap” report.

Climate adaptation includes preparing defences against rising floods, shelters against intensifying cyclones and emergency plans to protect people during worsening heatwaves and droughts.

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The report identified a rising need for funding in developing countries that is set to escalate to $340 billion by 2030. It found 80 per cent of countries had started adaptation plans, but only a third had quantified targets with deadlines.

It has led to calls for the Cop27 meeting, opening in Egypt this weekend, to agree a clear and time-bound roadmap on closing the finance gap under the “loss and damage” agenda item.

Securing more supports for climate-vulnerable countries under the adaptation heading is one of Ireland’s key priorities at Cop27, which will be attended by the Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Monday and Tuesday. More than 120 global leaders will attend a two-day summit in Sharm El Sheik.

‘Climate carnage’

A dramatic increase in funding for climate adaptation is needed to save millions of lives from “climate carnage”, UN secretary general António Guterres said in response to the report.

“Adaptation needs in the developing world are set to skyrocket to as much as $340 billion a year by 2030. Yet adaptation support today stands at less than one-tenth of that amount. The most vulnerable people and communities are paying the price. This is unacceptable,” he added.

“Adaptation must be treated with a seriousness that reflects the equal worth of all members of the human family. It’s time for a global climate adaptation overhaul that puts aside excuses and picks up the toolbox to fix the problems,” he said.

Cop27 must set out a way to close the finance gap while addressing the loss and damage issue, Mr Guterres said. “This will be a central litmus test for success at Cop27.”

Inger Andersen, UNEP executive director, highlighted current impacts including a multiyear drought in the Horn of Africa which has put millions on the brink of starvation. “The floods in Pakistan caused over $30 billion in damages and economic losses. Severe summer heat across the northern hemisphere brought destructive and deadly wildfires,” she pointed out.

These events are inextricably linked to climate change and evident at only 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures. Policies currently in place put us on the path for a 2.8 degree rise by end of the century, she said.

“Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity, as we saw throughout 2022: most viscerally in the floods that put much of Pakistan under water,” Ms Andersen said.

The world has to urgently reduce carbon emissions to limit climate impacts, while also urgently increasing efforts “to adapt to the impacts that are already here and those to come”.

She added: “We must quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strive for net-zero. But people, ecosystems and economies are already suffering. And it will be decades before temperatures start to fall again – if we manage to cut emissions. So, we must also urgently increase efforts to adapt to climate change.”

With over 80 per cent of countries having at least one national adaptation planning instrument in place, these are increasingly prioritising disadvantaged groups such as women and indigenous peoples, she confirmed.

“However, to turn adaptation plans into action, we need funding. And this funding isn’t coming through,” Ms Andersen underlined.

In 2020, international adaptation finance flows to developing countries hit $29 billion. This leaves a yawning gap to be filled – around 5 to 10 times the size of adaptation finance that arrived in 2020, the report confirms.

Nations need to live up to the Glasgow Climate Pact with strong action at Cop27, she said. “We need a rapid acceleration in scientific research, innovative planning, adequate finance and implementation, and deeper international co-operation.”