Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
The ClimateTech Podcast, hosted by UNEP, features SEI’s Georgia Savvidou, one of the authors of the finance chapter of the 2023 UN Environment Programme Adaptation Gap Report. The episode, The Adaptation Finance Gap – Beyond the numbers, discusses the adaptation finance gap – moving beyond the stark numbers to explore its implications and possible actions to address it.
Lasse Hemmingsen
Communications Officer
The 2023 Adaptation Gap Report released last week, shows that while needs are growing, finance to adapt to the climate crisis is dwindling. The adaptation finance gap – the difference between what we need and what we have – is expanding. It is now estimated to be between USD 194 to 366 billion, numbers that can seem almost surreal.
This podcast episode examines the estimated costs of adaptation in developing countries and compares them with international public adaptation finance flows. It highlights that adaptation finance decreased significantly, from USD 25 billion in 2020 to 21 billion dollars in 2021 – a 15% reduction.
Costs have gone up – but finance has decreased slightly – meaning the gap is bigger. To close this gap – we need to ensure a scale up of adaptation finance in the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance.
This is particularly crucial considering the Glasgow Climate Pact’s objective to double adaptation finance by 2025, which would entail increasing adaptation finance to approximately USD 40 billion annually. There is an urgent need to scale up adaptation finance and fulfil the commitment made in Glasgow.
Bridging the gap involves more than just meeting the target billions, it is also about the quality of investments. This includes ensuring equity, gender and social inclusion are considered in the financing decisions.
This podcast episode is part of The ClimateTech podcast hosted by UNEP featuring Georgia Savvidou from SEI as a guest.
Drone images of city bus driving through a roundabout in "Klimakvarteret", the Climate Resilient Neighbourhood in Østerbro, Copenhagen.
Other publication / SEI researchers contributed to the finance chapter of UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023 released ahead of the COP28.
Press release / Progress on climate adaptation is slowing when it should be accelerating to catch up with rising climate change impacts and risks, according to a UNEP report.
