New Delhi: The world is failing to support countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, a new UN report has found. The report also shows that the money needed to make climate-vulnerable countries more resilient and adaptable is shrinking.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released the report, titled ‘Adaptation Gap 2023: Underfinanced, Underprepared. Inadequate investment on climate adaptation leaves the world exposed’, Thursday, ahead of this year’s annual UN climate change conference, COP28, scheduled to begin in Dubai on 30 November.
The report highlighted that adaptation costs — funds needed by climate-vulnerable countries to increase their chances of survival, such as improved infrastructure — are declining. Adaptation costs required by low and middle-income countries during the ongoing decade have been estimated to be between $215 and $387 billion dollars per year.
However, the finance gap — the difference between what has been allocated by higher-income countries for the purpose of climate adaptation versus the actual requirement— stands between $194 and $366 billion dollars per year, the report highlighted.
According to the report, low and middle-income countries require 10-18 times more funds to carry out adaptation work. In 2021, just about $21 billion went to low and middle-income countries for adaptation projects. This, despite higher income countries having pledged in 2009 to “mobilise” $100 billion towards climate finance each year by 2020.
Every year, UNEP publishes the adaptation gap report ahead of the COP climate change conferences. This year’s report also states that the world is heading for a 2.4-2.6 degrees warming by the end of the century, far above the 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial temperatures limit that was agreed upon in the Paris Agreement. Climate change beyond the 1.5-degree benchmark is feared to have severe consequences for humans and ecosystems.
“Current climate action is woefully inadequate to meet the temperature and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement,” said the UNEP report, adding, “Current plans are putting us on a path towards 2.4-2.6 degrees by the end of the century.”
The UN report acknowledges that over 80 per cent of the world’s countries have at least one national adaptation plan, these are the ones which are not typically the most vulnerable.
“While half of the 29 countries without any such instruments [adaptation plans] are in the process of developing one, most of them are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts, and more must be done to close the gap faster,” read the report.
The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also reportedly stressed the urgency of the situation: “We are in an adaptation emergency. We must act like it. And take steps to close the adaptation gap, now.”
He said that lives and livelihoods are at stake, especially for the most vulnerable people and ecosystems. “Action to protect people and nature is more pressing than ever,” he added.
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Adaptation projects and case-studies
The adaptation onus falls on higher-income nations as they are regarded as being historically responsible for climate change, whereas low and middle-income nations have done little to cause the crisis, but are suffering the most, the UN report said.
According to the Paris Agreement, countries are supposed to balance funds between climate adaptation and mitigating the effects of climate change, through cutting emissions. However, “far more” money has been apportioned for mitigation.
Moreover, adaptation isn’t restricted to finance, but also looks at projects designed to reduce the risks and manage the effects of climate-related disasters, the UN report said.
According to media reports, experts recommend coastal defence in the wake of rising sea levels, the restoration of green covers, and preventive measures to reduce the effects of increasingly severe floods and early warning systems, as examples of what is required.
In 2022, the number of adaptation projects came down, but their overall value went up, as they were undertaken at a larger scale, the UN report highlighted.
In the report, The UN also provides 11 case studies that are examples of adaptation. They address the adverse effects of climate change in conjunction with local resilience and government planning.
One of the case studies is from Fiji, an island nation that faces the threat of rising sea levels. The country has developed 130-page planned relocation guidelines, that help identify and relocate dozens of villages that are at risk of drowning, said the report.
Another case study is from Bhutan, a mountainous country that is prone to flash floods and landslides. The country is improving its data sets and increasing its weather stations to prepare for impending disasters.
Adaptation is cost-effective, said the report, adding that every billion invested in coastal flooding can save up to 14 billion dollars in damages.
Loss and damage fund and COP28
Last year, COP27 saw a “breakthrough” agreement, as countries around the world acted on a longstanding demand — the establishment of a loss and damage fund, that compensates for the losses and damages obtained due to the effects of climate change.
The European Union and other high-carbon-emitting countries agreed to contribute to the fund, but excluded themselves from accessing it. India, reportedly the third largest carbon emitter in the world, was also left out of the fund, despite its low historical emissions. India’s cumulative emissions, from 1850 to 2019, amount to only four per cent of the global sum.
This year, the US reportedly proposed further limiting the scope of the fund, arguing that it should be used for “slow-onset” events like rising sea levels and desertification, as opposed to immediate disasters.
Meanwhile, last month, 46 LDCs reportedly issued a joint Dakar Declaration on Climate Change 2023 where they outlined their expectations for COP28, calling for urgent emission reductions, increased climate financing and the operationalisation of the loss and damage fund. COP28 is seen as pivotal to the kickstarting of the loss and damage fund.
The UN report also points out that there is no clear definition of what constitutes loss and damage, and how to measure it. It calls for a consensus on these issues, as well as on the sources and recipients of the fund.
However, reaching a consensus seems unlikely, as the preparatory meetings for COP28 have reportedly revealed a deep divide between high-income nations and low and middle-income countries. The host country, the UAE, has also faced criticism for its reliance on fossil fuels and its lack of transparency.
Details regarding where the money will come from and who it will be given to are to be agreed upon this year. A ‘transitional committee’, formed for this purpose, has reportedly failed. A final meeting in Abu Dhabi from 3-5 November is being seen as the last chance to bridge the gap before the summit begins. Any agreed proposal needs to be ratified at the conference.
“The entire COP28 negotiations could get derailed if low and middle-income countries’ priorities on funding for loss and damage are not adequately addressed,” an expert was quoted as saying by a news agency.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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