Coping with the impacts of climate change
The rise in the global average temperature can already be felt worldwide. The IKI is using numerous projects and initiatives to support people in affected regions. One central component here is the Adaptation Fund from the World Bank Group.
The impacts of anthropogenic climate change are very evident all over our planet. Increasing numbers of regions are experiencing extreme weather events, food security is under threat and natural freshwater resources are dwindling. Entire ecosystems are endangered. Therefore, adaptation to the impacts of climate change is therefore an increasingly important approach: people should be provided with improved strategies to cope with these changing climatic conditions and their far-reaching consequences.
With its funding area ‘Adapting to the impacts of climate change’, the International Climate Initiative (IKI) is helping people in especially vulnerable countries and regions to improve their resilience to the impacts of climate change. One key component of this funding area is the German contribution to the Adaptation Fund.
The Adaptation Fund was established in 2007 with the aim of providing support in the form of financing for specific adaptation measures to those countries that are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of the climate crisis. The Fund became operational in 2010, providing finance to early-warning systems for extreme weather events such as flooding or forest fires, efficient irrigation systems for agriculture, cross-border coastal and water management, and climate-adapted agriculture and forestry initiatives. Co-managed by developing and advanced countries, the Adaptation Fund is a multilateral fund that offers project implementing organisations in partner countries direct access to funding resources.
Germany increases contribution by a further €60 million
Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has provided more than $1 billion of funding. Among other things, this has facilitated the implementation of 150 projects in the most vulnerable communities in developing countries to the benefit of more than 38 million people worldwide.
Germany is the leading donor to the Fund, having contributed around €500 million via the IKI since its 2007 founding year – and €60 million most recently in 2022 (as of March 2023).
"Countries that fail to adapt to the impacts of climate change will literally go under. Climate change often hits poorer countries, which are not responsible for the high CO2 emissions of industrialised nations, particularly hard. It is therefore only fair that the costs of adapting to climate change be widely shared and that wealthy countries like Germany pay more. We are therefore increasing Germany’s contribution to the international Adaptation Fund, thereby promoting greater climate justice."
"Hurricanes, floods and parched fields are, to an ever-increasing degree, demonstrating how relentlessly the climate crisis is impacting developing countries in particular. That is why, starting this year, we want to lend even greater support to our partners by increasing Germany’s contribution to the Adaptation Fund. In so doing, we are stepping up our support for climate adaptation measures so that affected countries can implement practical and effective measures. This is why we are also supporting numerous projects that combine climate adaptation and biodiversity protection."
Other adaptation measures from the IKI
In its funding area ‘Adaptation to the impacts of climate change’, the IKI is particularly focused on participative projects that provide support to partner countries in the drafting and implementation of national adaptation plans (NAPs). These NAPs help establish structured planning processes that take a broad-based approach to accounting for climate risks and corresponding adaptation measures at all levels of political decision-making, a concept known as ‘mainstreaming adaptation’.
When implementing adaptation measures, the IKI places a special emphasis on supporting approaches that adhere the principles of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Oriented on humans, EbA is an approach that treats natural resources as supplements or substitutes for other kinds of adaptation measures. EbA measures enhance the resilience of both human society and ecosystems as they confront current and future changes in climate. Often, EbA proves to be a cost-effective option, as the resources needed for the restoration, along with long-term follow-up costs, are frequently lower than the expenditures required for comparable technical solutions capable of achieving the same level of adaptability.
Since 2008, the IKI has provided approximately €677 million in financing to a total of 157 projects related to adaptation. Among these projects, 50 are still ongoing (€355 million), while the rest have been concluded. Additionally, 12 projects with a funding volume of €168 million are currently awaiting approval. Most of these projects, either pending approval or already in implementation are bilateral and regional projects with a focus on Asia and Latin America.
More on the topic of adapting to the impacts of climate change
IKI Annual Report 2022
This article is part of the IKI Annual Report 2022. Learn more about the IKI Year 2022 ...
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