Climate adaptation for developing countries requires over $310 billion annually by 2035. This staggering figure is 12 times the current international public finance flows, according to a new United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) assessment.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty warns that the widening financial chasm jeopardizes lives, livelihoods, and economies across the world’s most vulnerable regions. The report’s findings were released before the upcoming COP30 climate negotiations in Belém, Brazil.
The widening financial gap:
Based on modeled costs, the annual adaptation finance needs in developing nations will exceed $310 billion by 2035 (or $365 billion based on national plans). However, international public adaptation finance flows to these countries decreased from $28 billion in 2022 to $26 billion in 2023. This creates a financial shortfall of up to $339 billion per year.
The report also confirms that the Glasgow Climate Pact goal—to double international public adaptation finance to approximately US$40 billion by 2025—will not be met under current trends.
According to António Guterres, Secretary General, UN, “Climate impacts are accelerating. Yet adaptation finance is not keeping pace, leaving the world’s most vulnerable exposed to rising seas, deadly storms, and searing heat.”
He said, “Adaptation is not a cost—it is a lifeline. Closing the adaptation gap is how we protect lives, deliver climate justice, and build a safer, more sustainable world. Let us not waste another moment.”
Progress in planning, lagging implementation:
Despite the financial crisis, there is positive movement in climate adaptation policy. About 172 countries now have at least one national adaptation strategy or plan in place, showing global commitment. Furthermore, countries have reported over 1,600 implemented adaptation actions, primarily in biodiversity, agriculture, water, and infrastructure.
However, the report highlights that 36 of those national instruments are outdated, and few countries are effectively reporting on the actual outcomes and impacts of these actions, making it difficult to assess their effectiveness.
Call to action:
The private sector is currently providing about $5 billion per year but has a realistic potential to reach $50 billion with better policy action.
The climate adaptation report emphasizes the need for a global effort to boost funding from both public and private sources, specifically urging the use of grants and non-debt-creating instruments to avoid increasing the debt burdens of vulnerable nations.
Inger Andersen, Executive Director, UNEP, underscored that climate shocks—including wildfires, heatwaves, and floods—will only intensify as efforts to cut emissions lag.
“Every person on this planet is living with the impacts of climate change,” she said. “The reality is simple: if we do not invest in adaptation now, we will face escalating costs every year.”
