Poorer nations need $305B US per year to adapt to climate change. UN says they're $277B short
Rich countries are falling well short of the $305 billion US ($426 billion Cdn) needed each year to help developing nations adapt to climate change, even as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, a UN report said on Wednesday. Funding from developed countries rose by $1 billion US, to $28.2 billion US ($39.4 billion Cdn), in 2024, but remained a fraction of what is required to help poorer nations cope with worsening heat waves, droughts, wildfires and floods, the UN's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report found .
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article says funding from developed countries rose by $1 billion in 2024, then adds a passage on growth in other sources. It does not say that adaptation finance has been flat or falling since 2022, or that it is far behind the promises rich countries made in 2021. Without this a reader may think funding is on a rising path.
How we know
- The Guardian reported“Flows of money to help poor countries cope with the climate crisis have been flat or falling since 2022”Funding to help poorer countries cope with climate crisis has stalled, says UN (opens in a new tab)
- The Guardian reported“far behind even the inadequate promises that rich countries signed up to in 2021”Funding to help poorer countries cope with climate crisis has stalled, says UN (opens in a new tab)
Countries are preparing to meet in Turkey from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20 for the next round of climate talks, where negotiators will examine why nations remain off track to meet a COP29 pledge made in Baku, Azerbaijan, to deliver $300 billion US a year in climate finance to developing countries — close to the UN's estimated requirement of $305 billion US. With global temperatures projected to exceed the critical 1.5 C (2.7 F) threshold within a few years, countries need to accelerate efforts to adapt by restoring ecosystems and strengthening infrastructure.
Countries committed to $120B by 2035 The report said an agreement at last year's climate talks in Brazil to triple adaptation finance for developing countries, with the aim of reaching $120 billion US ($168 billion Cdn) a year by 2035, would still leave a funding gap of more than two-thirds. Adaptation finance needs in developing countries are expected to reach $420 billion US ($587 billion Cdn) a year by 2035, the report found. "The world is not ready to adapt to current climatic conditions, never mind what overshoot of 1.5 C will bring," said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Program.
The report also pointed to growth in other sources of funding. Financing from multilateral development banks is likely to have increased significantly in 2025, while financial flows between developing countries have continued to rise. Funding channelled through development banks and between developing countries more than doubled to $9.6 billion US ($13.4 billion) in 2024 from $3.8 billion US ($5.3 billion) in 2019, it said.
Read the original article on cbc.ca (opens in a new tab)