Support for gender-responsiveness was found to be lacking
The annual adaptation needs of developing countries amount to $160-340 billion by 2030. Photo: iStock The developed world will continue to underdeliver on its promise of channelling 50 per cent of the total climate finance for the adaptation needs of developing countries in the near future, according to a new report.
Climate finance for mitigation, which is considered more attractive due to high financial returns, has attracted more funds, the report by CARE Climate Justice Center showed.
In 2009, developed countries agreed to jointly mobilise $100 billion in climate finance to support mitigation and adaptation in developing nations. They were also expected to allocate 50-50 balanced financial support for mitigation and adaptation that year.
Both goals have not been met. In 2020, 83.3 billion was provided for climate finance, of which a third went to adaptation activities such as water supply and sanitation and agriculture, forestry and fishing.
However, previous reports have shown that the support claims by developed countries are inflated. The figures are over-reported by an average of around 40 per cent, according to CARE.
The new CARE Climate Justice Center analysed the second biennial communications of 26 wealthy nations, which provide future plans for providing climate finance to developing countries.
It found that Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, the United States and the European Commission have indicated that less than half their finances are likely to target adaptation. They do not have a track record of providing balanced funds for adaptation and mitigation, it added.
Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia do not provide any information on balanced support.
However, there are some positive signs. Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand said they will prioritise adaptation. They also have a track record of doing so, the report stated.
Further, only nine countries — Canada, Denmark, France, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Commission — have mentioned quantitative adaptation finance targets in their submissions.
Taken together, these pledges contribute approximately $14.3 billion of adaptation finance annually.
This figure is nowhere close to the requirements. According to an estimate from the United Nations Environment Programme, the annual adaptation needs of developing countries amount to $160-340 billion by 2030.
Also, there is a lack of gender responsiveness in the submissions. The chances of women and girls having a better life are threatened by climate change and gender inequality.
“Submissions commonly dedicate one or two sentences to the issue of mainstreaming gender in development policy, or to gender equality as a cross-cutting objective,” the report read.
Australia, Austria and Sweden present quantitative evidence to show the previous levels of gender responsiveness within their climate or development support.
France, Germany, New Zealand and the United States either have targets for the gender-responsive climate or development finance or have expressed the intent to increase the levels of gender-responsive finance.
“It is critical that impacted communities, including women and girls, have access to resources that enable them to lead adaptation efforts, build resilience and thrive in these uncertain and changing conditions,” Marlene Achoki, climate justice co-lead for the CARE Climate Justice Center, said in a statement.
The authors of the report also noted that Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Commission mentioned mobilisation of climate finance from private players.
However, there is a lack of transparency on the levels of support with private finance, the report highlighted.
“Significant concerns remain with respect to the types of activities that will be funded through private climate finance as well as the burdensome conditions often attached to private loans,” the authors explained.
Private finances flow into projects that have high returns on investment and adaptation projects often get sidelined.
The report also recommended that developed countries provide a roadmap to double adaptation finance by 2025. This was agreed upon at the 26th COnference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Glasgow.
Also, they added that the next biennial communications report should consider the new climate finance goal, the New Collective Quantified Goal, which is expected to be operational by 2025.
In the next biennial communications, authors urged wealthy countries to provide plans for supporting loss and damage. This, they added, should be strictly treated separately from adaptation support to avoid double-counting.
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