KPMG, Standard Chartered and UNDRR launch adaptation and resilience financing roadmap ahead of COP29

• Call for step-change in financing adaptation and resilience as breakthrough Guide for Adaptation and Resilience Finance (the Guide) offers clarity and transparency to accelerate investment.
• The Guide sets out - for the first time - eligible financeable activities and guidance on what constitutes adaptation and resilience investment, alongside a practical roadmap for financing and investment opportunities.
• Created by Standard Chartered, KPMG and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) - with support from 20+ leading financial institutions Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and NGOs - the Guide responds to the urgent call to mobilize private finance for adaptation and resilience, issued at COP28.

KPMG, Standard Chartered and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) called for a step-change in the mobilization of finance for adaptation and resilience ahead of COP29, particularly in emerging markets. This comes as Standard Chartered, KPMG and UNDRR launch a breakthrough roadmap to galvanize and align sector-wide efforts to address the significant finance shortfall in adaptation and resilience.

The Guide for Adaptation and Resilience Finance, developed with support from more than twenty leading financial institutions, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and NGOs - including the African Development Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative - represents a practical tool for investors, commercial banks, and other financial institutions by:

• Setting out a common reference for adaptation and resilience alongside a list of financeable adaptation and resilience themes and activities, forming a classification framework
• Simplifying the decision-making process when financing adaptation and resilience through principles and guidance based on latest best practice definitions and frameworks
• Identifying priority investments and their co-benefits, including emissions reductions and nature protection and conservation, alongside adaptation and resilience benefits

The Guide maps over 100 investable activities across adaptation and resilience, including: climate-resilient crops, vertical farming, natural flood protection, water conservation and efficiency measures, public hospital infrastructure investment, renewable energy storage solutions, and mangrove conservation and replanting.

The latest UN analysis on global climate impacts underlines the need for urgent action, with 2023 marking the hottest year on record amid rising sea levels and the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather. Economic losses from natural and climate-related disasters are estimated to cost more than USD 330 billion per year, and this figure is just the tip of the iceberg of the real uncounted costs on people's lives.

Today, less than 10% of all climate finance is allocated to adaptation. The global adaptation financing gap is widening, and current levels of funding remain well below the estimated USD 212 billion per year needed through to 2030 in developing countries alone.

Research conducted by Standard Chartered, published in its Adaptation Economy Report, found that for every USD 1 spent on adaptation this decade, an economic benefit of USD 12 could be generated - highlighting the significant economic pay-off of early action towards adaptation and the potential gains for investors.

"Financing climate adaptation and resilience through an ESG lens is not just a financial endeavor; it's a commitment to sustainability, social responsibility, and governance excellence. This guide should be leveraged by all stakeholders to unlock the financing adaptation, resilience and activities ensuring a more resilient and prosperous future for all."

Amnat Ritdumrongkul

Partner - Consulting & ESG Leader for the Financial ServicesKPMG in Thailand

The Guide responds to a COP28 call for consistent and common language to align efforts in addressing the adaptation and resilience shortfall - outlined in the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience, as part of the UAE Consensus agreed at last year's UN climate summit.

Ahead of COP29, the private sector, MDBs and other financial institutions have a vital role to play, in collaboration with governments and wider stakeholders, to accelerate the deployment of capital towards adaptation and resilience. To galvanize efforts ahead of the summit, Standard Chartered, KPMG and UNDRR are inviting further collaboration with plans for financial sector dialogues, including a convening at Ecosperity Week in Singapore (17 April).