By Kavita Mistry 
The world is critically underprepared to protect vulnerable populations from worsening climate impacts, according to a new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty, published on October 29, finds that developing countries will require between $310 billion and $365 billion annually by 2035 to adapt to climate change. Current international public adaptation finance flows stand at $26 billion, leaving a gap that is 12 to 14 times wider than existing support.
The report warns that the Glasgow Climate Pact goal to double adaptation finance to $40 billion by 2025 will not be met unless there is an urgent turnaround in funding commitments.
Tipping Point: What to expect from COP30
Tipping Point: What to expect from COP30
| Video Credit:
The Hindu
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Climate impacts are accelerating. Yet adaptation finance is not keeping pace, leaving the world’s most vulnerable exposed to rising seas, deadly storms, and searing heat. Adaptation is not a cost – it is a lifeline. Closing the adaptation gap is how we protect lives, deliver climate justice, and build a safer, more sustainable world. Let us not waste another moment.”
UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen added, “Every person on this planet is living with the impacts of climate change: wildfires, heatwaves, desertification, floods, rising costs and more. As action to cut greenhouse gas emissions continues to lag, these impacts will only get worse, harming more people and causing significant economic damage. We need a global push to increase adaptation finance – from both public and private sources – without adding to the debt burdens of vulnerable nations. Even amid tight budgets and competing priorities, the reality is simple: if we do not invest in adaptation now, we will face escalating costs every year.”
The report highlights that 172 countries now have at least one national adaptation policy, strategy or plan, but 36 of these are outdated, raising the risk of maladaptation. Countries reported more than 1,600 adaptation actions in sectors such as biodiversity, agriculture, water and infrastructure, but few are tracking or reporting their outcomes.
Support from climate funds such as the Adaptation Fund, the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund grew to $920 million in 2024, an 86% increase over the previous five-year average. However, UNEP cautions that this may be a temporary spike, with emerging financial constraints threatening future flows.
The report also examines the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) set at COP29 in Baku, which calls for $300 billion per year by 2035 for climate action in developing countries. UNEP notes that this figure is insufficient, especially when adjusted for inflation, which could push adaptation needs to $440–520 billion annually by 2035.
India facing risks
India is among the countries facing rising health risks due to climate change. Harshal Salve, Additional Professor at AIIMS Delhi, said, “Developing countries like India are experiencing increasing heat stress, water scarcity, wet bulb temperatures and air pollution amid climate change, which are adding to the health challenges in our regions. These threats are not only increasing coping pressure on local governance, hospitals and the health infrastructure but also require adequate finance for the scale of the problem. Real adaptation finance for health systems remains abysmally inadequate and in a post-pandemic world, this is not just an economic issue but a serious public health emergency in the making.”
Climate activist Harjeet Singh, Founding Director of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, said, “This report confirms a staggering betrayal. The adaptation finance gap is a death sentence for communities on the frontline. For decades, the developing world has been told to prepare for a crisis they didn’t cause. They have done their homework—172 countries now have adaptation plans—but rich nations have offered only lip service, with finance flows decreasing last year. This monumental gap—now at least 12 times what is provided—is the direct cause of lost lives, destroyed homes, and shattered livelihoods. This is a deliberate political choice by rich countries to abandon the developing world to climate impacts they had no role in causing. It is the very definition of climate injustice.”
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Executive Director of the Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, said, “The Adaptation Gap Report makes it painfully clear: we are dangerously underinvesting in climate resilience. The finance gap is not just a number; it’s a reflection of the growing risks to people’s health, safety, and dignity. From heatwaves that strain healthcare systems to floods that contaminate water supplies, the impacts are intensifying, and the most vulnerable are paying the highest price. We need urgent, scaled-up adaptation finance that prioritises grants and concessional support, not more debt. Climate resilience must be built on fairness, care, and global solidarity.”
Esther Penunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers’ Association, said, “New research shows that small-scale family farmers need an annual average investment of $952 for a one hectare farm – the equivalent of $2.19 a day – to adapt to climate change. Since we produce half the world’s food calories, surely this is a no brainer investment. Yet the latest UN adaptation finance gap figures confirm what us farmers already know; funding is massively falling short. Shifting financial flows away from harmful chemical intensive agriculture and into nature-friendly family farming is a win for governments, communities and the planet. After all, we are the ones pioneering the transition to sustainable, resilient and agro-ecological practices.”
The report also estimates that private sector investment in national adaptation priorities could realistically reach $50 billion per year with supportive policy and blended finance mechanisms, up from the current $5 billion.