Adaptation Gap Report 2023

Adaptation Gap Report 2023

News: Climate impacts are accelerating. Failure to adapt has massive implications for losses and damages, particularly for the most vulnerable reveals UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023.

About Adaptation Gap Report 2023
• The Adaptation Gap Report 2023 is a publication by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) that provides an update on the global status and progress of the adaptation process across three elements: planning, financing, and implementation.

Key Findings:
• In 2023, temperature records toppled, while storms, floods, droughts, and heatwaves caused devastation.
• The adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10- 18 times as big as international public finance flows.
• The modelled costs of adaptation in developing countries are estimated at US$215 billion per year this decade.
• The adaptation finance needed to implement domestic adaptation priorities is estimated at US$387 billion per year.
• Public multilateral and bilateral adaptation finance flows to developing countries declined by 15 per cent to US$21 billion in 2021.
• The current adaptation finance gap is now estimated at US$194-366 billion per year.
• Adaptation planning and implementation appear to be plateauing.
• The report identifies seven ways to increase financing, including through domestic expenditure and international and private sector finance.

What are the 7 ways to increase financing?
• Domestic Expenditure: Encouraging countries to allocate a larger portion of their budget towards climate adaptation efforts.
• International Finance: Increasing the amount of international funding provided for climate adaptation, particularly from developed to developing countries.
• Private Sector Finance: Encouraging private sector investment in climate adaptation efforts.
• Remittances: Utilizing remittances (money sent home by individuals working abroad) as a source of funding for climate adaptation.
• Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): Increasing and tailoring finance to SMEs, which can play a crucial role in implementing adaptation measures at the local level.
• Reform of the Global Financial Architecture: Reforming the global financial system to better support climate adaptation financing.
• Innovative Financing Mechanisms: Exploring new and innovative ways of raising funds, such as green bonds or climate levies.

Conclusion
• Policymakers, multilateral banks, investors and the private sector must make COP28 (2023) the moment that the world committed fully to insulating low-income countries and disadvantaged groups, such as women and Indigenous Peoples, from climate impacts.