News: The Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty was published recently by UNEP.
About UNEP’S Adaptation Gap Report 2025
- Released by: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Title of the report: Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty
- It evaluates the world’s preparedness for climate adaptation and financing needs and underscores the widening gap between adaptation finance needs and actual funding flows, particularly for developing countries.
- Key Findings
- Developing countries will require $310–$365 billion annually by 2035 to adapt to climate change.
- Current adaptation finance stands at $26 billion, leaving a gap that is 12–14 times wider than existing support.
- The Glasgow Climate Pact goal to double adaptation finance to $40 billion by 2025 is unlikely to be met without immediate action.
- Adjusted for inflation, true adaptation needs may rise to $440–$520 billion annually by 2035.
- 172 countries have at least one national adaptation plan or policy, but 36 are outdated, increasing risks of maladaptation.
- Over 1,600 adaptation actions have been reported globally across biodiversity, agriculture, water, and infrastructure sectors, but few track measurable outcomes.
- Support from global climate funds such as Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility (GEF), and Green Climate Fund (GCF) reached $920 million in 2024, an 86% increase over the five-year average.
- UNEP warns this rise may be temporary, with emerging fiscal constraints threatening future finance flows.
- India’s Perspective: India is among the nation’s most at risk from heat stress, water scarcity, and air pollution.
- Private Sector Involvement: Current private investment in adaptation stands at $5 billion per year.
- With supportive policy and blended finance mechanisms, private sector funding could rise to $50 billion annually.
- UNEP stresses the need to mobilize both public and private finance collaboratively.
- The report also highlights that adaptation finance gap is not merely a funding shortfall but a threat to global equity, justice, and resilience.
- Recommendation: UNEP calls for urgent, scaled-up, and equitable climate finance, ensuring resilient systems for health, agriculture, and livelihoods in vulnerable nations.
