The United Nations has issued a stark warning about the escalating climate crisis and the widening financial gap for developing nations in its Adaptation Gap Report 2025: ‘Running on Empty’. According to the report, developing countries will need at least $310 billion annually by 2035 to adequately adapt to the impacts of climate change—a figure nearly 12 times the current level of international public adaptation finance.

The Adaptation Finance Gap

International public adaptation finance to developing nations stood at $26 billion in 2023, down from $28 billion the previous year. This leaves an adaptation finance gap of $284–339 billion annually, underscoring a profound shortfall between need and provision. When extrapolated from countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), adaptation needs rise further to $365 billion per year.

Adjusting for a 3% annual inflation rate, the report estimates that by 2035, the amount required could surge to $440–520 billion per year. UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized that this gap is not merely financial—it is a “failure of global solidarity,” directly impacting lives through flooded homes, failed harvests, and lost lives.

International Commitments and COP29

The urgency to close the gap is highlighted by prior international commitments. During COP29 in Baku, developed nations agreed under the New Collective Quantified Goal to mobilize at least $300 billion annually by 2035 for climate action in developing countries. However, this amount, which combines mitigation and adaptation, remains far below the actual needs.

The report warns that if current trends persist, the Glasgow Climate Pact goal—doubling international public adaptation finance from 2019 levels to roughly $40 billion by 2025—will likely be missed.

Calls for Action at COP30

Looking ahead to COP30 in Belem, Brazil, UN climate officials and activists are urging the global community to develop a comprehensive adaptation finance plan. Guterres stressed the importance of ensuring resources reach frontline communities to protect lives, strengthen food and water security, and build climate resilience. He called for:

• Developed nations to honor pledges to double adaptation finance
• Mobilization of $1.3 trillion annually by 2035, with a fair, predictable share for adaptation
• Private sector investment in resilience and adaptation
• Fossil fuel profits to contribute to recovery efforts
• Multilateral development banks to allocate at least half of climate funding to adaptation

UN Climate Chief Simon Stiell also highlighted that climate finance is not charity but essential for safeguarding economies, supply chains, and food and energy security.

The Human and Economic Case for Adaptation

The report emphasizes that investments in adaptation far outweigh the costs of inaction. For example:

• Every $1 spent on coastal protection can prevent $14 in damages
• Urban nature-based solutions can reduce ambient temperatures by over 1°C
• Health capacity-building initiatives can reduce heat stress symptoms

These investments are critical to protecting vulnerable populations and mitigating the escalating costs of climate impacts.

Global Preparedness and Adaptation Plans

Globally, 172 countries have at least one national adaptation policy, strategy, or plan. Only four countries have yet to develop a plan. However, 36 countries have outdated instruments, with some not updated for over a decade, increasing the risk of maladaptation.

The Biennial Transparency Reports submitted under the Paris Agreement show over 1,600 adaptation actions, mainly in biodiversity, agriculture, water, and infrastructure. Yet, few countries report on outcomes, limiting assessment of their effectiveness.

Meanwhile, support for new projects under the Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility, and Green Climate Fund reached nearly $920 million in 2024, an 86% increase over the five-year average between 2019 and 2023.

India is among the countries preparing robust adaptation strategies. HT has reported that India has finalized its first national adaptation plan, which is expected to be unveiled ahead of COP30, along with an updated NDC for 2035.

Global North Responsibility

The report criticizes a handful of Global North countries—United States, Canada, Australia, and Norway—for expanding oil and gas production between 2015 and 2024, while extraction in the rest of the world fell by 2%. This expansion has significantly contributed to climate impacts while failing to provide adequate adaptation finance, according to Oil Change International’s analysis titled Planet Wreckers: Global North Countries Fueling the Fire Since the Paris Agreement.

Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy lead at Oil Change International, called out the Global North for withholding finance while profiting from the climate crisis, describing it as a “blatant mockery of justice and equity.”

Climate Justice and Urgency

Activists, including Harjeet Singh of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, warned that the adaptation finance gap constitutes a death sentence for frontline communities. Developing nations have prepared their plans and taken action, yet rich countries have largely failed to deliver the necessary funding.

The Adaptation Gap Report 2025 paints a sobering picture: the climate crisis is accelerating, adaptation needs are skyrocketing, and global support is lagging dangerously. COP30 in Belem will be a critical test of international solidarity, climate justice, and the world’s capacity to protect the most vulnerable populations from the mounting climate emergency.