Countries must urgently ramp up action to adapt to the current and future impacts of climate change, as efforts now are too little and too slow, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in its latest report, published on Thursday.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2022 has been released ahead of the COP27 UN climate conference, which opens this weekend in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
It calls for increased funding and implementation of actions aimed at helping vulnerable nations and communities adapt to the climate emergency in the face of mounting risks.
Estimated annual adaptation needs are between $160 billion to $340 billion by the end of the decade, and up to $565 billion by 2050.
“Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity, as we saw throughout 2022: most viscerally in the floods that put much of Pakistan under water,” said Inger Andersen, the UNEP Executive Director.
“The world must urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit the impacts of climate change. But we must also urgently increase efforts to adapt to the impacts that are already here and those to come.”
The report emphasizes that adaptation, as well as mitigation, must be front and centre in the global response to the climate crisis.