UN warns adaptation funding for poorer nations remains far below needs
Original report:
Financial support for climate adaptation in developing countries has barely grown, despite mounting needs, a UN report says. The poorest nations received less funding in 2024 than in 2022, while wealthy countries remain behind their promised pace of support.
Climate adaptation funding from wealthy countries to poorer nations reached at most $32bn in 2024, according to a UN Environment Programme report covered by the Guardian. That was $1bn above the previous year but below the 2022 peak, leaving support behind the pace needed for a $40bn target in 2025.
The report estimates that 155 developing countries will need $305bn annually by 2035 for measures including flood defences, stronger infrastructure and drought-resilient irrigation. Wealthy nations agreed at COP30 to triple adaptation finance by 2035, but the report says that commitment would still leave substantial needs unmet. Least developed countries received 16% less adaptation support in 2024 than two years earlier.
How adaptation projects are financed also matters. Climate justice groups are seeking grants or concessional loans because measures such as sea walls and heat shelters do not generate direct revenue to repay expensive borrowing. The UN report says debt and equity costs can more than double project budgets.
Source
the Guardian — 4 November 2026
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