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In climate policy, not all issues carry equal weight. Adaptation is often seen as a secondary concern—or worse, a sign of defeat. But preparing for climate change impacts is not the same as preventing them, and this outdated way of thinking is dangerous.
Adaptation and mitigation are complementary and equally indispensable strategies for a successful transition to a low-carbon future. However, this transition will only be effective if we consider the multiple realities that affect millions of people. Every delay in reducing emissions makes adaptation more difficult, limiting our options and increasing risks.
This link was recognized—at least in theory—at COP28. And now, at COP30, Brazil as a host, has a unique opportunity to lead by example, pushing for ambitious adaptation policies that protect local communities and ecosystems worldwide.
Why “NOW”?
Today, droughts reduce food production, fuel food insecurity, and leave communities isolated—without access to essential resources like healthcare and clean water. Floods paralyze cities and destroy homes. Extreme heat overloads power grids. Indigenous ecological calendars and technologies—refined over millennia—are being thrown off.
Today, adaptation is still only remembered in major emergencies, when it’s already too late. But also today, we feel in bodies, wallets, and plates, the urgency for adaptation.
Today, adaptation forces us to face an uncomfortable truth: what we have built may no longer be enough. To adapt is to change. It affects identity, territory, and shakes the foundations of our systems.
Recognizing the need to adapt is, above all, a collective survival strategy — it means making the future possible to exist.
Adaptation finance gap: a costly blind spot
It is becoming increasingly clear that no country in the world, regardless of its level of development, is immune to extreme events and other consequences of the climate crisis. Even with well adapted infrastructure and agrifood systems, no country is able to escape its dependence on global efforts to achieve net-zero.
In Brazil, one single flood in the south of the country in 2024 cost around US$10 billion in emergency response—almost wiping out planned savings from federal budget cuts. In Spain, the 2024 floods caused more than 220 deaths, prompting the Spanish government to seek €4.4 billion in support from the European Union for recovery and resilience building.
While global funding for climate adaptation reached around $28 billion in 2022 (UNEP, 2024), EU countries invested over $154 billion in response to the war in Ukraine. While war is treated as an emergency, climate adaptation is treated as a future concern.
So, what would it take for leaders and societies to treat climate adaptation with the same level of alarm as a military invasion?
The adaptation finance gap today is estimated at US$187-359 billion per year (UNEP, 2024). Even so, adaptation in global forums receives less attention and funding than mitigation efforts. In national governments, responsibilities are still often scattered.
Prioritizing adaptation is not to surrender—it is an act of courage and clarity about what is truly necessary.
Three steps to elevate adaptation
1. Financing with a view to the future
The fundamental question is not just what needs to be done, but how to ensure that this urgency reaches all levels of society. As highlighted earlier, adaptation is a shared priority. Developing countries, in particular, require both financial and technical support to implement their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). Turning these plans into action demands financial mobilization at every level of governance.
To make adaptation truly effective, financial instruments—such as resilience-linked bonds—must be deployed with transparent criteria, social and environmental safeguards, and rigorous monitoring mechanisms.
Only then will adaptation move beyond being merely a reaction to disasters and instead become recognized as a structural necessity for a resilient future.
2. Investing in adaptation pays off
Adaptation is not just a response—it creates socio-economic benefits. Studies show that in Latin America and the Caribbean, every US$1 invested in adaptation can yield up to US$12 in economic benefits by reducing damage from extreme events, reconstruction costs and lost production.
While the upfront costs of adaptation may seem high, such investments reduce the need for public emergency spending, which, as noted above, can be substantial.
Adaptation also reduces the need for large contingency reserves in public budgets and promotes long-term structural improvements in the economy. For example, investments in resilient agricultural practices and adaptive infrastructure help prevent losses and ensure continuity of production and livelihoods.
3. Build national adaptation missions
Climate adaptation is not just a local concern—it is essential for national resilience. Since fragmented and short-term responses are no longer sufficient, structural and long-term solutions must be prioritized.
Adaptation must be a shared priority across society and without widespread mobilization, any strategy will see its effectiveness limited. Climate risks need to be translated into tangible, everyday terms to make the climate emergency more understandable, highlighting how these challenges affect various sectors—from the link between the climate crisis and rising food prices to the need for robust urban infrastructure to prevent flooding. This involves incorporating the issue into education, the media, and political discourse, ensuring that the voices of those most affected are central to the conversation.
National adaptation systems need to be established, integrating technical capacity building, strategic financing, and inclusive governance, with clear coordination between the federal, state, and local levels.
What can we do?
We have the chance to finalise indicators for the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), making targets trackable and implementation-ready.
We can define a new finance target that must replace the current doubling goal, embedding an adaptation target in the roadmap from $100 billion to $1.3 trillion by 2035.
Brazil, as COP30 host, has a unique role. Beyond negotiations, it must lead by example with concrete actions:
- Showcase domestic policies that make Brazil a global model of adaptation implementation.
- Guarantee diplomatic progress on indicators, finance, and the Baku–Belém Roadmap.
- Bring a real economic agenda that showcases projects, pipelines, and people driving change.
- Emphasize a narrative that puts people first — break false binaries between adaptation, mitigation, and development.
At the Talanoa Institute, we believe adaptation deserves visibility, but also power. Visibility alone won’t reduce risk. Power means giving adaptation the institutional authority, funding, and political backing it needs to drive real transformation.
