The UN’s annual climate conference kicks off next week in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, just ahead of the UN Environment Programme’s new report on climate adaptation.
In the report titled ‘Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come Hell and High Water’, the UN agency warns that vulnerable communities are facing the effects of climate change, extreme weather events, floods and storms.
UN experts emphasize that if urgent action is not taken, the global temperature increase may exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius and reach 2.6-3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.
“Climate change is already devastating communities around the world, especially the poorest and most vulnerable,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
“Storms are destroying homes, fires are destroying forests, soil is eroding and droughts are damaging the landscape.”
He said that people’s livelihood as well as nature, on which they depend, must be protected from the harmful effects of climate change.
“This is a glimpse of what our future holds in the absence of action. “The world now has no excuse not to be serious about adaptation.”
Against the backdrop of these challenges, there is an emphasis on increasing the scope and scale of climate adaptation efforts to address climate impacts. However, there is a wide gap between the availability of existing funds and the funding required for adaptation efforts, and therefore there is a need to fill the gap in financial resources.
Adaptation efforts are important
At the COP29 climate summit, which begins in Baku on November 11, delegates from around the world, UN officials, civil society and stakeholders from other sectors will gather to assess progress and discuss best efforts to combat climate change.
Building seawalls and infrastructure to protect against floods and storm surges, investing in early warning systems, and changing land use, among other measures, are critical to adaptation efforts.
International adaptation funds for developing countries could reach $28 billion by 2022, but this is still far below the required level. According to one estimate, to fill this gap, $187 billion to $359 billion will be needed per year.
The United Nations Environment Program says a collective goal for climate finance needs to be set during the COP29 negotiations. Also, the COP30 climate conference to be held in Brazil in 2025 will take a climate resolution on adaptation.
Support innovative solutions
According to the report, multilateral development banks have an important role to play in strengthening climate finance and new solutions must be found.
For the private sector, UNEP emphasized risk reduction mechanisms to attract more investment in adaptation.
Experts feel that the availability of financial resources is not enough. In this sequence, countries are called upon to encourage capacity development and technology exchange to promote adaptation efforts in the water, food and agriculture sectors.
The UN agency says there needs to be a shift in how adaptation funding is delivered, from short-term, project-based initiatives to strategic, predictable investments.