COP27 must do more on the climate finance front
(sustainabilityenvironment.com) – Only 29 billion $, just over 1/3 of the total. It is the share of global climate finance allocated to adaptation measures in 2020, which are essential to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable countries in the face of a climate crisis that is accelerating at a rapid pace. Little, very little compared to what will be needed by the end of the decade: between 160 and 340 billion dollars, calculates the UN Agency for Environmental Protection (UNEP).
This situation puts at risk the ability of much of the planet to cope with the impact of climate change. And even if there is a constant increase – compared to 2019 it is 4% – climate finance is still growing “too little, too slowly“, as stated in the title of the new UNEP Adaptation Gap report released two days before the start of COP27 on the climate of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Yet there is progress. More than 8 countries out of 10 (84% of UNFCCC partners) today have plans and tools to adapt to climate change. Existing ones have improved and are more inclusive of the most vulnerable groups. One-third of the countries have set quantifiable targets and a precise timetable.
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But climate finance that has to travel from the richest countries to the vulnerable ones does not keep pace with country-wide preparedness. The funding gap for adaptation measures remains large: resources are 5-10 times less than would be needed.
“Taking inflation into account, the estimated annual costs/needs for adaptation are between 160 and 340 billion dollars by 2030 and between 315 and 565 billion dollars by 2050,” the report says. “This range is in line with the new results that estimate a financial need of 71 billion dollars per year between now and 2030, based on determined national contributions (NDC) and national adaptation plans (NAP) of 76 developing countries”.