Climate Adaptation Funds for Developing Countries

When did climate change become a global issue? It started thirty years ago when Dr. James Hansen, then NASA’s Institute director for Space Studies, testified before a Senate committee on 23 June 1988.

Their observations show that the greenhouse effect is changing our climate. He attributes this warming to the human exploitation of carbon energy sources (Brulle, 2018).

Though progress in addressing climate change has stalled since Hansen’s testimony, the last decade has shown increased attention to the issue and its widespread consequences.

Climate change has become a prominent issue in the previous decade, and this time, actions to address it are not slowing down as countries worldwide are starting to experience its effects.

The urgency to address climate change has pushed governments, private institutions, and organisations to call for climate change funding.

Governments, private institutions, and organisations have started to include climate change in their funding plans to address this critical issue. Wealthy nations have historically contributed to the majority of GHG emissions and up to the present; recognising this, they have begun pooling their resources to fund climate adaptation and mitigation actions.

These funds will go to developing countries to address their vulnerabilities, build resilience to climate change, and help them transition to clean and renewable energy.

According to Funds for NGOs, contributions from developed countries on renewable energies rose from USD 221 million to 1.2 billion from 2008 to 2011. The organisation expects funding to continue flowing to climate projects.

More climate funds are flowing in

An announcement from the UN Climate Change says that several developed country members who have signed up to the Paris Agreement, multilateral development banks, and multilateral climate funds will increase their climate financial support by at least 50%, reaching at least GBP 5.8 billion between 2016 and 2021. Half this funding will go to climate adaptation projects (List of Recent, 2021).

Climate Change Adaptation Funds and how to access them.

USAID Adapt Asia Pacific has created a quick guide to assist eligible Asian and Pacific countries, or those who are the most vulnerable to climate change, in gaining improved access to finance for climate change adaptation projects. 

The guide lists ten significant multilateral and bilateral climate funds and initiatives providing climate adaptation financing to developing countries.

The guide the organisations’ climate finance experts developed presents “only the need-to-know, essential bits of information and provides key facts about individual funds, such as eligibility criteria, target areas, and, importantly, the mechanisms that will ultimately help you gain access and approval”.