Amid another year of deadly storms and record heat waves, there is a shrinking window of time left for investing in our ability to withstand and recover from climate shocks.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States and Storm DANA in Spain aren’t like the hurricanes of past generations — they are harbingers of a planet in crisis. Earlier this year, Cyclone Remal displaced nearly 1 million people in Bangladesh and India, floods in Kenya and Tanzania claimed over 225 lives, and Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul experienced its worst flooding in over 80 years. Meanwhile, record heat waves in the Philippines and Thailand are sparking urgent health concerns for students, workers, and the aging population.
These extreme weather events are not isolated catastrophes. Driven by climate change, they intensify rapidly and are stronger and more frequent. They are a reminder that climate change is not a distant threat; it is here now and worsening with each passing day.
Conversations about addressing the climate crisis often focus on cutting emissions, on beating the clock before our “carbon budget” runs out. The same is true for adaptation and resilience. The world is racing against a closing window of time — an “adaptation budget,” if you will — for investing in the ability of communities around the world to withstand and recover from climate shocks.
Failure to act boldly means a future of escalating loss and damage, leaving communities exposed and vulnerable to the next wave of catastrophic events. Seized by this imperative to act, a diverse group of philanthropic funders from around the world has banded together to help catalyze investment in climate adaptation and resilience. Now is the time for funders to join the effort before the window of opportunity closes.
Escalating climate catastrophes demand immediate action
Within 24 hours, Hurricane Milton intensified to a Category 5 storm, slamming Florida with winds 10% stronger than previous hurricanes and 20% to 30% heavier rainfall. Warmer waters due to rising global temperatures (driven by climate change) supercharge storms, enabling them to intensify with alarming speed. This dangerous trend gives communities less time to prepare, as Floridians learned when Milton made landfall just 13 days after Hurricane Helene devastated the region — confirming research that rapid sequential storms are becoming more common.
The damage goes far beyond physical destruction. Loss of lives and livelihoods, displacement, food and water shortages, economic collapse, and rising health risks like malaria and dengue compound the suffering, especially for low-income families, people with disabilities, the aging population, and other communities vulnerable to climate impacts.
These disasters only deepen existing inequalities, amplifying the human cost of climate change.
In Bangladesh, families torn apart by Cyclone Remal are not only grappling with the loss of their homes, but they are also facing a future threatened by dwindling resources and uncertain recovery.
Rapidly scale adaptation investments now before our window closes
Jim Skea, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that at that current pace, global temperatures could increase by 3° C by 2100. To avoid catastrophic losses, philanthropy must immediately accelerate action and scale investments in adaptation and resilience.
“Failure to act boldly means a future of escalating loss and damage, leaving communities exposed and vulnerable to the next wave of catastrophic events.”
Investing in adaptation and resilience isn’t just about minimizing damage — it’s about supporting communities and working to ensure they have the tools needed to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing world. These investments are essential for protecting the futures of workers and communities. Key areas for investment include:
- Financial protection for communities through parametric insurance for heat, drought, and flood events to help ensure quick recovery after climate shocks.
- Infrastructure upgrades in coastal and flood-prone areas, including stormwater and wastewater systems, resilient ports, permeable pavements, and natural buffer zones to safeguard against rising seas and extreme weather.
- Climate-smart agriculture that uses drought-resistant seeds and sustainable farming practices to secure global food systems and protect farmers from increasing climate unpredictability.
- Advanced climate risk modeling and forecasting tools to help businesses, homeowners, and investors make informed decisions in a rapidly changing climate.
However, current funding is grossly inadequate. Researchers estimate that only $76 billion USD was invested in adaptation and resilience across all countries in 2022. For comparison, the United Nations’ latest findings show that adaptation financing needs in developing countries alone are nearly $400 billion per year.
The recent IPCC reports leave no room for ambiguity: without a massive increase in support for climate adaptation and resilience, the world will face far greater economic loss and human suffering. The International Chamber of Commerce estimates that extreme weather events between 2014 and 2023 cost $2 trillion for countries around the world, a number roughly in line with the 2008 global financial crisis. For low- and middle-income countries, the consequences will be catastrophic, worsening poverty, inequality, and displacement.
Philanthropy mobilizes to help prevent a world of loss and damage
The world is struggling to close the adaptation finance gap against a shrinking window of opportunity. Philanthropy can step up and play a unique role — not just as a funder but as a catalyst to unlock public and private funding.
Convened by ClimateWorks Foundation, 21 leading philanthropic funders issued a call to action at COP28 in Dubai in 2023, sounding an alarm on the need to scale up adaptation investments without delay.
“The United Nations’ latest findings show that adaptation financing needs in developing countries alone are nearly $400 billion per year.”
The call to action led to the formation of the Adaptation and Resilience Collaborative for Funders (ARC), which has grown to a diverse group of over 60 philanthropies from five continents that fund across various issue areas. Throughout 2024, ARC hosted funder learning sessions to inform, mobilize, and identify opportunities for collaboration. In July, the collaborative responded to the UN call to action on extreme heat by investing an initial $50 million in climate adaptation and resilience efforts.
At COP29 in Baku, ARC released a first estimate of foundation support for adaptation and resilience, enhancing transparency and highlighting the opportunity to scale support. The analysis revealed at least $600 million in annual funding in 2023, with a projection of between $650 million and $700 million in 2024. These projections likely underestimate philanthropic support, which can be challenging to measure due to the cross-cutting nature of adaptation funding. Despite the likely underestimation, we know philanthropy needs to do more to scale its support.
We are energized by the response to the funder’s call to action and the growth of the collaborative over the last year — and we’re rolling up our sleeves. Guided by a shared vision, we are now developing an overarching strategy for philanthropy that includes creating a multi-donor adaptation fund to ensure that workers and communities have the means to adapt, survive, and thrive in the face of an increasingly volatile climate.
For more information, funders can reach out to adaptation@climateworks.org to learn more and get involved.