Residents in boats inspect floodwater flowing from the Tittabawassee River to the lower downtown on May 20, 2020 in Midland, Michigan.
Gregory Shamus | Getty Images
According to the fifth edition of the UN Environment Program’s Adaptation Gap report, governments around the world must scale up climate adaptation measures significantly to avoid major economic damage from global warming.
According to the report released Thursday, countries will have to spend half of all global climate funding on adaptation next year to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. In 2020, the hottest year on record, on par with 2016, the world saw record-breaking hurricanes and wildfires that intensify as temperatures rise.
Such a commitment includes investing in nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change, such as replanting trees on degraded land, capturing more soil carbon through agricultural practices and protecting forests through changing logging practices.
Almost 75% of the countries have adopted some form of climate adaptation. But widespread gaps remain in funding for developing countries, which are most vulnerable to rising temperatures, as well as projects that have significantly reduced climate risk, the report said.
The UN estimated that the annual cost of climate adaptation could be between $ 140 billion and $ 300 billion by the end of the decade and between $ 280 billion and $ 500 billion by 2050, and concluded that global action is lagging far behind.
And while climate adaptation projects are on the rise, the continued rise in global carbon emissions is putting those projects at risk.
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Under the Paris Climate Agreement, the global pact forged among nearly 200 countries five years ago, governments are trying to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to pre-industrial levels.
The world is still on track for temperatures to soar above 3 degrees Celsius or 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit this century.
The report said meeting the 2 degrees Celsius target could limit the economic loss in annual growth to 1.6% compared to 2.2% for 3 degrees Celsius warming and urged countries to meet their targets under the Paris Agreement to update to include a new net zero CO2 targets.
“The harsh truth is that climate change is on the way,” Inger Andersen, UNEP’s executive director, said in a statement. “Its impact will grow and hit vulnerable countries and communities the hardest – even if we meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
The report also called on governments to prioritize climate change in their Covid-19 economic recovery plans, including a shift from fossil fuels to investing in green technologies and restoring ecosystems.
According to the International Monetary Fund, the world’s largest economies have committed more than $ 12 trillion for recovering economies.