Climate Finance Fundamentals 3: Thematic Briefing - Adaptation Finance

The costs of adaptation to climate change in developing countries are substantial. Developed countries have committed to scale up support for adaptation in developing countries, particularly in LDCs and SIDS. They promised to double adaptation finance between 2014 and 2020 under a roadmap presented for COP 22. The largest sources of approved funding for adaptation projects are currently the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) of the World Bank’s Climate Investment Funds, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) administered by the Global Environmental Facility, and the Adaptation Fund. Developed countries’ contributions to these funds remain low compared to those funds supporting mitigation; at a global level, adaptation remains underfunded. The GCF – set to devote 50% of its USD 10 billion initial resource mobilisation to adaptation, with half of that going to the SIDS, LDCs and African states (see CFF 11) – becomes the largest provider of adaptation finance and approved the largest volume of adaptation finance this year, adding a further USD 202 million for 11 projects targeting adaptation in 2019. The amount of cumulative finance approved for adaptation from key climate funds tracked by CFU has grown to USD 4.8 billion in 2019. Directing adaptation funding to countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as well as to the most vulnerable people and population groups within recipient countries in a gender-responsive and equitable manner remains an imperative, with grant financing continuing to play a major role.