The UNEP’s Adaptation Finance Gap Report which was released earlier this month has found that annual adaptation finance now only stands at $194 billion to $366 billion, with existing financial flows reaching just $25 billion during the 2017-2021 period. The shortfall in what is needed versus what is provided, is now 50% larger than previously estimated, with adaptation finance needs being 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows. Moreover, instead of increasing, annual flows dropped 15% in 2021. This depicts a worrying trend in adaptation finance which, according to the agreement reached at COP26, is supposed to be doubled by 2025.
