funding for adaptation in developing countries is largely insufficient, according to the UN

The sentence is clear: progress in climate adaptation is slowing down when it should be accelerating, according to a United Nations report published Thursday, November 2. In detail, the climate adaptation financing of developing countries fell by 15% in 2021 over one year and it is estimated that some of these countries would need financing up to 18 times greater than current amounts. Further proof that the fight against climate change caused by human activities “patina”according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

And it’s not the only one: despite the obvious signs “with an acceleration of climate risks and their impacts across the world, the financing gap for adaptation is widening, now between 194 and 366 billion euros per year” (or between 182 and 344 billion euros), deplores the report from the United Nations Environment Program. Its authors cite another eloquent figure: “The 55 most climate-vulnerable economies have already suffered more than $500 billion in damage [470 milliards euros] over the past two years.”

Despite this very worrying assessment, the report suggests a glimmer of hope in terms of adaptation, that is to say measures intended to reduce the exposure and vulnerability of countries and populations to the effects of climate change. . Several studies cited (PDF document, p.16) claim in particular that each billion invested against coastal flooding leads to a reduction of 14 billion dollars (or a little more than 13 billion euros) in economic damage.