In 2014 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published
its first global Adaptation Gap Report (AGR 2014) (UNEP,
2014), which put forward a preliminary framework for assessing
adaptation gaps along with an initial assessment in three selected
areas: finance, technology and knowledge. Further to the positive
reception of this report, several countries requested UNEP to produce
follow up reports focusing on specific adaptation gaps. In
response to these requests, UNEP has commissioned a new report
with a special focus on finance gaps and options to bridge them.
The report will be published in the spring of 2016.
This update is intended as an input to discussions at the 21st
session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It
brings together key findings on adaptation costs and finance from
AGR 2014 and preliminary findings from the 2016 assessment.
Furthermore, it draws on insights concerning adaptation costs and
related finance needs, as stated in the adaptation components in
the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – the
post-2020 climate actions that countries intend to undertake following
a new global agreement on climate change.
