The National Roundtable on Adaptation Financing will be held at the Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi India on 16 February and will be broadcast through Zoom to selected participants and speakers.

Adaptation is key as it reduces climate risks and vulnerability mostly via adjustment of existing systems. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2022) says, “Many adaptation options exist and are used to help manage projected climate change impacts, but their implementation depends upon the capacity and effectiveness of governance and decision-making processes.”

However, the amount for global climate finance is not adequate. The Standing committee of Finance in the UNFCCC report on Biennial flows estimates $803 billion in global climate finance in 2019-20, of which $49 billion was for adaptation2. The adaptation finance needs till 2050 is estimated at $295 billion per year.

There are, however, a myriad of options to scale up and improve the suitability of adaptation finance that are accessible to developing countries and more concessional to attract funding.

Strengthening developing countries' capacity to better mobilize and successfully deploy financial resources through well-designed adaptation interventions that apply best practice adaptation principles is vital.

There is a need to simplify and harmonize the requirements and procedures of the multilateral public adaptation finance providers to the extent possible and generalize enhanced direct access to multilateral funds.3 Also, in designing programs and eligibility criteria, providers and financiers should take steps to ensure that adaptation finance reaches the poorest and/or most vulnerable developing countries that need it the most. Moreover, setting up a project (or program) preparation facility funded by donors could provide support to developing countries in design and development of adaptation interventions.

Mobilizing private sector capital for certain adaptation projects may also need to be considered. The smart and targeted use of blending and de-risking, in particular by MDBs, as well as green guaranteed schemes, are also key instruments to unlock the mobilizing of private sector capital flows for adaptation actions. Enhanced capacity is also a prerequisite for this purpose.

There is no single template that encapsulates these various strands of activity. They also require different types of support. Strong support will be needed from multilateral and bilateral donors. MDBs also have a key role to play as part of their policy dialogue with Governments and the process of preparing quality projects that they can subsequently fund.