Pledges from rich countries to help poorer countries adapt to climate change are not increasing at the rate needed to close the financing gap that is putting the world’s most vulnerable at risk, a United Nations report has warned. Developing countries need 10 to 18 times more international funding than has been pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of rising temperatures and sea levels, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in its 2023 adaptation gap report. Annual funding from richer countries to help poorer countries mitigate and adapt to climate change fell by 15 percent in 2021, and “adaptation planning and implementation appear to be stagnant,” the report said. Funding is easier to mobilize for renewable energy projects than for adaptation, even as more frequent extreme weather events around the world increase the need for adaptation. (Fri)