Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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October 29, 2025 Climate and environment
As global temperatures rise and the impacts of climate change intensify, the vast gap in adaptation funding for developing countries is putting lives, livelihoods, and entire economies at risk, according to the 2025 Climate Change Adaptation Report, titled "Running Out Fuel," prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
IN reportA report published ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will take place in November in Belém, Brazil, notes that despite improved adaptation planning and implementation, adaptation financing needs in developing countries will exceed $310 billion per year by 2035. This is 12 times higher than current levels of international public adaptation financing.
"The impacts of climate change are accelerating. However, adaptation funding has not kept pace, leaving the world's most vulnerable people suffering from rising sea levels, deadly storms, and scorching heat," the UN Secretary-General noted. Antonio Guterres in his message on the occasion of the report's release. "Adaptation is not an expense, it's a lifeline. Closing the adaptation gap is how we protect lives, ensure climate justice, and build a safer and more resilient world. There's no time to waste."
Adaptation is not an expense, it is a means of salvation
“Every person on this planet faces the impacts of climate change: wildfires, extreme heat, desertification, floods, rising prices, and much more,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “As action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions continues to lag, these impacts will only worsen, harming more people and causing significant economic losses. We need a global effort to increase adaptation funding—from both public and private sources—without increasing the debt burden of vulnerable countries. Even with limited budgets and competing priorities, the reality is simple: if we don’t start investing in adaptation now, we will face rising costs every year.”
Missing funds
The $310 billion estimate is based on modeled costs. If the estimates are based on extrapolated needs reflected in Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans, this figure rises to $365 billion. These figures are based on 2023 data and are not adjusted for inflation.
If we don't start investing in adaptation now, we will face increasing costs every year.
International public adaptation finance flows to developing countries will total $26 billion in 2023, down from $28 billion in the previous year. This leaves an adaptation finance gap of $284-339 billion per year, 12-14 times higher than current flows. UNEP's previous estimate amounted to 194-366 billion dollars.
If current funding trends do not change in the near future, the target of doubling international public funding for adaptation measures from 2019 levels to approximately $40 billion by 2025, as set out in Glasgow Climate Pact, will not be executed.
Planning and implementation of measures
Approximately 172 countries have at least one national adaptation policy or plan in place; only four countries have not yet begun developing a plan. However, in 36 of these 172 countries, the instruments are outdated or have not been updated for at least ten years. This must be taken into account to minimize the risk of maladaptation.
In the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), which countries submit under the Paris Agreement to describe their progress in meeting their climate commitments, countries have reported on over 1,600 implemented adaptation measures, primarily in the areas of biodiversity, agriculture, water resources, and infrastructure. However, only a few countries report on the actual results and impacts needed to assess their effectiveness.
Meanwhile, support for new projects under the Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility, and Green Climate Fund has grown to nearly $920 million in 2024. This is 86 percent higher than the five-year average of $494 million from 2019 to 2023. However, this may prove to be only a temporary blip, as emerging financial constraints make the future uncertain.
Increasing public and private funding
The new collective climate finance target agreed at COP29 calls for developed countries to provide at least $300 billion per year to combat climate change in developing countries by 2035. This is insufficient to close the financing gap for two reasons.
First, if the inflation rate of the last decade persists until 2035, developing countries' adaptation financing needs will increase from $310-365 billion per year in 2023 prices to $440-520 billion per year. Second, the $300 billion target is intended for both mitigation and adaptation. This means that only a fraction of this amount will be allocated to adaptation.
The Baku-Belen roadmap for raising $1.3 trillion by 2035 could be of great importance, but care must be taken to avoid increasing the vulnerability of developing countries. Grants, concessional, and debt-free instruments are crucial to prevent debt buildup, which would hinder vulnerable countries' investment in adaptation.
For the roadmap to work, the international community must close the adaptation funding gap. This requires mitigating climate change, preventing maladaptation, and increasing funding through new donors, investors, and instruments. It is also necessary to engage more financial actors in integrating resilience issues into decision-making processes.
While the private sector must do more, the report estimates a realistic potential for private investment in public adaptation priorities at $50 billion per year. This compares to current private investment of approximately $5 billion per year. Reaching $50 billion will require targeted policy measures and a combination of financial solutions, with concessional public financing used to mitigate risks and increase private investment.
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