Rich countries fall far short on climate adaptation funding, UN says

Rich countries are falling well short of the $305 billion 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 to $28.2 billion in 2024, but remained a fraction of what is required to help poorer nations cope with worsening heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods, the UN's 2026 Adaptation Gap Report found.

Countries are preparing to meet in Turkey on November 9 to 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 to deliver $300 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries — close to the UN's estimated requirement of $305 billion.

With global temperatures projected to exceed the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees ​Fahrenheit) threshold within a few years, countries need to accelerate efforts to adapt by restoring ecosystems and strengthening infrastructure.

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 a year by 2035, would still leave a funding gap of more than two-thirds.

"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 Programme.

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 in 2024 from $3.8 billion in 2019, it said.