Allocation of Climate Funds and the Adaptation Infrastructure Gap

Abstract

Global climate adaptation financing schemes represent one of the most promising developments in climate finance for developing nations. Recently, there has been concern that the emergence of a competitive mechanism for the allocation of adaptation funds has un-leveled the playing field to qualify for funds because the most climate vulnerable countries also have the greatest capacity gaps to attract and leverage climate finance. However, without a comparable, consistent definition of vulnerability across countries, it has been difficult to verify this conjecture. In this paper, I take a quantifiable approach to assess the link between the allocation of finance and adaptation needs drawing on newly constructed adaptation costs in the Pacific SIDS. I find that adaptation funds do not adequately meet adaptation needs in several of these nations, opening up an adaptation infrastructure gap that global climate policies must address.