The financial lifeline extended by affluent nations to help less developed countries brace for the onslaught of climate change—things like devastating storms, intense heatwaves, and other environmental hazards—is tragically shrinking, a recent United Nations report has revealed.
In 2023, wealthy countries contributed approximately $26 billion towards climate adaptation efforts, marking a 7% decrease from the previous year, according to the United Nations Environment Program. This puts them “unlikely” to fulfill a significant promise made in 2021: to provide at least $40 billion in annual aid by 2025. This pledged sum itself is considered a mere fraction of what vulnerable nations truly need to cope with escalating climate impacts.
These findings serve as yet another stark indicator that global initiatives to combat climate change are losing momentum. Adding to the challenge, President Trump is in the process of withdrawing the United States from the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement, a pact where nearly every nation committed to curtailing the emissions rapidly warming our planet.
Even as other world leaders prepare to gather in Belém, Brazil, next month for the annual U.N. climate summit, without the U.S. at the table, these crucial discussions are already facing difficulties.
Alarmingly, only about one-third of countries have managed to update their national emissions reduction plans by the stipulated deadline, as highlighted in a separate United Nations report released just a day prior.
“This sluggish overall progress should resonate as a wake-up call for every single citizen,” stated Ilana Seid, an ambassador from Palau and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, a powerful group of climate-vulnerable nations at the U.N. climate negotiations.
The release of these reports coincided with Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, unleashing widespread destruction upon Jamaica, underscoring the immediate and dire reality facing many regions.
“Right now, communities in small island developing states are grappling with the catastrophic consequences of an unprecedented hurricane season, knowing full well that their resources for recovery are limited, and the path to securing necessary funds will be incredibly challenging,” Ms. Seid emphasized.
The Paris Agreement, a global accord, binds countries to a collective goal: to keep the rise in average global temperatures “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. (Our world has already warmed by approximately 1.3 degrees Celsius). Nations committed to submitting voluntary plans to reduce emissions, with updates due every five years.
Based on current commitments, global warming is projected to reach around 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit). While this might seem like a minor increment, scientists consistently warn that even slight increases in temperature amplify the risks of intense heatwaves, raging wildfires, prolonged droughts, severe storms, and widespread species extinction.
As nations continue to grapple with cutting emissions, the focus of U.N. climate discussions has increasingly shifted towards the urgent need for communities to adapt and protect themselves against the now-unavoidable impacts of a warming planet.
Climate adaptation encompasses a variety of strategies: from planting crops resilient to drought and elevating buildings to protect against floods, to carefully relocating entire communities away from vulnerable coastlines. It also involves essential, broader upgrades to infrastructure like roads, power grids, and hospitals, ensuring they can withstand a wide array of future disasters.
“Many of the necessary measures to address climate risk are not areas where the private sector can readily find a clear return on investment,” explained Henry Neufeldt, a lead author of the U.N.’s adaptation report. “To secure the substantial funding required, a significant portion must originate from the public sector.”
The report’s projections indicate that developing countries will require an estimated $310 billion to $365 billion annually by 2035 simply to adapt to rising global temperatures.
The persistent question of how much wealthy nations should contribute has been a contentious issue in international negotiations for years. Historically, industrialized countries, including the United States and European nations, have been the primary emitters of heat-trapping greenhouse gases through their reliance on coal, oil, and gas. Conversely, developing countries in Africa and elsewhere have contributed minimally to this problem but are disproportionately affected by climate-induced catastrophes.
Just four years ago, affluent nations pledged to double their adaptation contributions, aiming for at least $40 billion annually by 2025. However, the U.N. report clearly indicates that this target is unlikely to be met. Adaptation aid from both wealthy nations and development banks saw a reduction from $28 billion in 2022 to $26 billion in 2023, with no clear signs of an impending recovery.
The Biden administration had aimed to provide $3.1 billion in adaptation aid in 2023. However, Mr. Trump, largely dismissive of global warming concerns, has systematically dismantled many climate aid programs.
Despite the challenges, the report did highlight some encouraging developments: at least 172 countries now have foundational national climate adaptation plans in place. Numerous nations have successfully lowered their vulnerability to weather-related disasters by implementing measures such as flood barriers, widespread air-conditioning, and advanced early-warning systems for tropical cyclones. Consequently, global fatalities from extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and heatwaves decreased by approximately two-thirds between 1970 and 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Nevertheless, experts caution that many countries are still primarily reacting to disasters—for instance, enhancing flood defenses only after a severe rainstorm—rather than proactively developing comprehensive, long-term strategies to prepare for steadily escalating temperatures.
“The fundamental truth is straightforward,” declared Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program. “If we fail to invest in adaptation efforts now, we will inevitably face soaring costs year after year.”