UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the world is absolutely unprepared for a “disaster” caused by climate change and must urgently prepare for a worse situation in the future.
Global efforts to adapt to climate change – from building defensive sea walls to planting drought-resistant crops – have failed to catch up as global warming increases the frequency and intensity of disasters.
EU climate monitors say floods, fires and other climate shocks have hit almost every continent in a year that is almost certain to be the hottest on record.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said in a new assessment looking to 2022 that the amount of money given to poor countries for adaptation measures was barely one-tenth of the amount needed to disaster-proof their vulnerable economies. Is available.
“Climate disaster is the new reality. And we are not keeping up,” Guterres said at the launch of UNEP’s annual Adaptation Gap report.
Rich countries are under pressure at this month’s UN COP29 summit to substantially increase the $100 billion pledged for climate action, including adaptation in developing countries.
But some donor governments are under fiscal and political pressure, and the conference in Azerbaijan is not expected to make major new commitments of public funds.
The UN biodiversity meeting this month failed to reach a funding agreement and the election of Donald Trump – who opposes global climate cooperation – hangs over COP29.
no one is immune
Most public money committed to climate change is spent on reducing planet-warming emissions, not on adapting to its long-term consequences.
Nearly $28 billion in public finance was committed to developing countries for climate adaptation in 2022.
This was an increase from the previous year, but still a drop in the ocean: UNEP estimates that adaptation in developing countries requires $215 billion to $387 billion annually.
Rich countries have pledged to double the amount to about $40 billion a year by 2025, but even that would leave an “extremely large” adaptation financing gap, UNEP said.
Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, said climate disasters hit the poorest communities hardest, but they will no longer have to bear the cost of inaction alone.
“From rising seas and extreme heat waves to more frequent droughts and floods, the impacts of climate change now reach every corner of the world. No nation, no community is untouched by it,” he said in a statement.
Spanish authorities were accused of being inadequately prepared when a major storm last month caused floods that killed more than 200 people.
Climate scientists say global warming is leading to more frequent and severe extreme weather.
“We cannot postpone protection. We must adapt now,” Guterres said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
