The 2025 edition of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report finds that, while adaptation planning and implementation are on the rise, there is a “yawning gap” in adaptation finance. The report calls for public and private actors to step up financial support for climate action in developing countries in line with the Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.

Themed, ‘Running on Empty: The world is gearing up for climate resilience – without the money to get there,’ the Adaptation Gap Report 2025 shows that out of 197 countries worldwide, 172 have a national adaptation plan (NAP), strategy, or policy in place, and only four countries have not embarked on one. At the same time, it notes that 36 countries’ plans are outdated and need to be updated urgently to minimize the possibility of maladaptation.

The report further reveals that the Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) countries submit under the Paris Agreement on climate change contain more than 1,600 adaptation actions focused mainly on biodiversity and ecosystems, food and agriculture, water and sanitation, and infrastructure and human settlements. The report recommends that the coming rounds of BTRs emphasize outcomes and impacts of actions to enable a better understanding of the effectiveness and adequacy of adaptation implementation.

The report also finds that support to adaptation implementation projects under the Adaptation Fund, the funds managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) grew to nearly USD 920 million in 2024, reflecting an increase of 86% compared to the five-year moving average of USD 494 million between 2019 and 2023. The report warns, however, that current financial constraints are likely to affect this trend.

The report assesses the costs of adaptation in developing countries by 2035 at over USD 310 billion per year. This is 12 times higher than current international public adaptation finance flows, which amounted to USD 26 billion in 2023. The estimated cost is based on a modeling analysis; extrapolating needs outlined in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and NAPs pushes the need to USD 365 billion. These numbers reflect 2023 prices and are not adjusted for inflation. If current trends continue, the report warns that the Glasgow Climate Pact goal of doubling 2019 adaptation finance flows by 2025 to around USD 40 billion will be missed.

The report finds that the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance (NCQG), agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference last year, is insufficient to meet developing countries’ adaptation finance needs in 2035. The NCQG, which calls for developed countries to provide at least USD 300 billion for climate action in developing countries per year by 2035, does not account for inflation. In addition, since the NCQG target is for both mitigation and adaptation, the number for adaption would be lower than the total.

Emphasizing the need for more public and private adaptation finance, the report underscores the need for the Baku to Belém Roadmap to “guide bridging the adaptation finance gap fairly and without enhancing vulnerabilities of developing nations,” giving priority to grants and concessional instruments. It assesses the private sector’s realistic contribution at USD 50 billion per year to invest in national public adaptation priorities – ten times greater than current private flows.

In a message on the release of the report, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged all financial actors to move forward on the Baku to Belém Roadmap “with a fair, predictable share for adaptation, and ensuring that new finance does not increase debt burdens.”

“Even amid tight budgets and competing priorities, the reality is simple: if we do not invest in adaptation now, we will face escalating costs every year,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.

Launched on 29 October 2025, the report will inform negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) later this month. UNEP’s annual assessments of the global progress on adaptation planning, financing, and implementation are available for 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014. [Publication: Adaptation Gap Report 2025] [Executive Summary] [Publication Landing Page] [UNEP Press Release] [UN News Story]