Climate fund risk to developing nations

UN body sounds the alarm on woefully inadequate funding

- Sheree Beega

As global temperatures rise and climate impact intensifies, developing countries are being left dangerously exposed, with finance to build resilience falling hundreds of billions short of what is needed to protect lives, livelihoods and economies.

This stark warning comes from the UN Environment Programme's Adaptation Gap report 2025: Running on Empty, released ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil next month.

It paints a sobering picture: while most nations have developed adaptation plans, the money to implement them is still nowhere near sufficient.

Unep estimates that by 2035, developing countries will require between $310 billion and $365 billion annually to cope with climate impacts.

Yet, in 2023, international public flows for adaptation totalled only $26 billion — less than one-twelfth of what's needed. This leaves a "yawning adaptation finance gap" of between $284 billion and $339 billion a year.