Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity as we saw time and again throughout 2022: most viscerally in the catastrophic floods that put much of Pakistan under water. These are the kinds of climate impacts we are suffering at only 1.1°C above pre-industrial temperatures. We are heading for much higher temperatures: 2.8°C by the end of the century based on current policies. The international community must urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a transformation of energy industry transport food systems financial systems and so much more. However as the 2022 edition of UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report: Too Little Too Slow finds we must also urgently increase efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already here and to those that are to come. The report finds that global efforts in adaptation planning financing and implementation are increasing incrementally. However they are not keeping pace with increasing climate risks. Yes over 80 per cent of countries have at least one national adaptation planning instrument in place. But funding to turn planning into action isn’t following.

The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2020 finds that while nations have advanced in planning huge gaps remain in finance for developing countries and bringing adaptation projects to the stage where they bring real protection against climate impacts such as droughts floods and sea-level rise. Public and private finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently along with faster implementation. Nature-based solutions – locally appropriate actions that address societal challenges such as climate change and provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits by protecting sustainably managing and restoring natural or modified ecosystems – must also become a priority.