Adaptation Gap Report
Also called: UNEP Adaptation Gap Report · Topic: Environment and Sustainable Development · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Adaptation Gap Report is a yearly report by UNEP (the UN Environment Programme). It measures the "gap" between what developing countries need for adaptation and what they actually get. Adaptation means preparing for climate damage, for example by building flood defences or growing drought-tolerant crops. The report looks at planning, at action on the ground and, above all, at money. Negotiators use it to argue about adaptation finance, meaning money for resilience. It also shows whether promises are being kept, such as the Glasgow (COP26, 2021) pledge to double adaptation finance by 2025 from 2019 levels.
Example
The 2025 edition, Running on Empty (October 2025), found that international public adaptation finance to developing countries fell from US$28 billion in 2022 to US$26 billion in 2023. It estimated needs at about US$310–365 billion a year by 2035, which is 12–14 times current flows. It also said the Glasgow doubling goal would be missed on current trends. India uses findings like these to demand climate finance that is predictable and largely public and concessional (grants or cheap loans).
Don't confuse with
- Emissions Gap Report: This is also published by UNEP, but it covers mitigation, which means cutting emissions. It measures the gap between the emission cuts countries have promised and the cuts needed to hold warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. The Adaptation Gap Report measures the gap in coping with warming.
- Loss and damage: This is harm that adaptation cannot prevent, such as a lost harvest or a submerged island. It is funded through a separate track, not through adaptation finance.