The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report 2026 has estimated that developing countries will require around $305 billion in adaptation finance by 2035, rising to $420 billion when inflation is taken into account.
However, depending on how governments interpret the COP30 pledge to triple adaptation finance, actual funding could reach between $85 billion and $120 billion a year by 2035 – in other words, covering just 20% to 29% of the estimated needs.
“Even if rich countries triple adaptation finance by 2035, more than 70% of the money developing countries need to protect their people from climate impacts would still be missing,” commented Pooja Dave, adaptation lead at Climate Action Network International.
In 2024, rich nations provided approximately $30 billion to help developing countries prepare for and respond to climate impacts, a figure that was only slightly higher than the previous year.
COP31 commitment
Dave called on countries attending COP31 to commit to a plan to deliver at least $120 billion annually in adaptation finance well before 2035, through new and additional public, grant-based funding.
“Rich governments must set out how they will close the remaining gap to meet developing countries’ full adaptation needs,” she added. “People have a right to a climate safe world and protection from climate impacts. Adaptation is not charity. It is a legal and moral obligation.”
The funding shortfall also extends to loss and damage caused by climate change. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage received requests totalling $2.8 billion in its first funding round, but has just $342 million available, enough to cover approximately one dollar in every eight requested.
‘Failing to invest’
“Even though UNEP’s numbers probably underestimate the real need, they show us just how badly the world is failing to invest in its own survival,” commented Teresa Anderson, global lead on climate justice for ActionAid International. “The Earth is heating up but adaptation spending is just a fraction of the money needed to keep humanity safe.
“Wealthy countries need to be reminded that their pollution is leaving billions of people exposed to catastrophic climate impacts. They need to get their priorities straight and secure our collective survival by filling the alarming gap in adaptation funding. COP31 needs to deliver a new finance goal that actually meets the scale of need.” Read more here and here.
