The Adaptation Fund has announced it has received its first new pledge of 2025, with Sweden committing SEK 130 million (around $13 million) to supporting global efforts in climate adaptation.
The pledge was announced during a visit by the Adaptation Fund to Sweden, with the Nordic country one of the largest bilateral donors to the Fund, having contributed more than over $200 million since its inception in 2010.
‘An important contribution’
“This is an important contribution to global climate work and to support the developing countries that are hardest hit by the effects of climate change,” commented Benjamin Dousa, Swedish Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade.
The Adaptation Fund is considering setting a new resource mobilisation goal for 2025 at its annual meeting in Bonn, Germany this week, as it seeks to build on the $133 million it mobilised last year.
It also has a UN mandate to triple its outflows from 2022 levels by 2030, aiming for approximately $400 million in annual project support.
At the same time, the fund is facing an increasing demand for its resources, with close to $600 million in unfunded project proposals in its pipeline, and with the global adaptation financing gap, which the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates at US$387 billion per year, continuing to rise.
Read more: The Adaptation Fund’s Saliha Dobardzic on the need to empower communities to drive change
‘Setting the tone’
The Fund said that it is hopeful that Sweden‘s contribution will’ ‘set the tone’ for others to come forward over the course of this year.
“Sweden is one of our longest standing and most consistent supporters and biggest contributor on a per capita basis,” added Mikko Ollikainen, head of the Adaptation Fund. “Sweden’s support for the work of the Adaptation Fund through financial contributions and active engagement on the Board has been invaluable to the evolution of the Fund.
“Scaling up the work of the Fund is more important now than ever as we strive to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, so no one is left behind. The Fund has further proven to deliver effectively and efficiently since its launch nearly 18 years ago.”
The Adaptation Fund, now in its 18th year, has to date committed $1.25 billion to over 180 projects, reaching 46 million beneficiaries. Approximately half of the projects it has supported are located in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) or Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Read more here.
