The United Nations Adaptation Gap Report, 2020 was recently released by the UNEP.

Must read edition: Five years of Paris Agreement

UN Adaptation Gap Report

• UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has managed the production of UN Environment’s Adaptation Gap Report series since its first edition in 2014.
• The aim of the reports is to inform national and international efforts to advance climate change adaptation.

Behind the concept: Adaptation Cost

• Adaptation Cost includes costs of planning, preparing for, facilitating and implementing the climate change adaptation measures.
• It thus derives benefits as the avoided damage costs or the accrued benefits following the adoption and implementation of adaptation measures.

Highlights of the 2020 report

• The annual cost of adaptation to the effects of climate change for developing countries is estimated to at least quadruple by 2050, according to the United Nations Adaptation Gap Report, 2020.
• The current cost for developing countries is in the range of $70 billion (Rs 5.1 lakh crore) and may rise to $140-300 billion in 2030 and $280-500 billion in 2050.

Funding gaps

• The ever-increasing adaptation cost has also outpaced the growth in adaptation finance that refers to the flow of funds to developing countries to help them tide over the damages caused by climate change.
• This, in turn, has kept the adaptation finance gap from closing with the current efforts, although the fund flow has increased, the report said.
• Adaptation costs, in actual terms, are higher in developed countries but the burden of adaptation is greater for developing countries in relation to their gross domestic product.
• These countries, especially in Africa and Asia, which are least equipped to tackle climate change will also, be the most impacted by it, the report noted.

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