Ottawa, Monday, November 9 – As the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP 31) begins in Antalya, Turkey, the National Adaptation Plan Global Network (NAP GN) is calling for more support to help developing countries to implement their adaptation priorities.
According to last week’s Adaptation Gap Report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), adaptation finance falls far short of needs, losses and damages are mounting, and stronger institutions are critical to accelerating adaptation implementation.
The report Limiting Overshoot, also from UNEP, has made it clear that we are entering an above 1.5-degree world. Adapting to current and anticipated increases in climate risk is a must-have not a nice-to-have, particularly for countries most vulnerable to climate impacts.
Orville Grey, Head of Secretariat for the NAP Global Network said:
“The increasing risks are reinforcing the need to accelerate the implementation of adaptation priorities alongside efforts to limit warming. For developing countries, particularly Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, the challenge is acute, with limited human, financial, and technical resources constraining their ability to prepare for and recover from disastrous climate shocks. Building, strengthening, and funding National Adaptation Plan processes is no longer optional—it is the single most critical pathway for developing nations to survive and thrive.”
As the primary vehicle for delivering on the Paris Agreement’s Global Goal on Adaptation, almost all developing countries have a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process underway. NAPs empower countries to coordinate policy, mobilize resources, and bridge national strategy with local action. The challenge now is turning those plans and priorities into concrete measures. Progress is uneven, with implementation lagging, some plans becoming outdated, and persistent capacity and financing gaps constraining action.
At COP 31 in Antalya, delegates will be tackling structural bottlenecks that prevent public finance from flowing into actionable NAP projects via the COP31 Presidency’s Open Dialogue. Through the broader Mutirão package, the focus will be on scaling up financing for implementation of NAPs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCS). Negotiators will also continue discussions with a view to agreeing the details of the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Anne Hammill, Associate Vice President of Resilience at IISD and founding Director of the NAP Global Network said:
“Through more than a decade of working with over 90 countries on their adaptation processes, the NAP Global Network has come to understand that finance is critical. However, closing these gaps requires more than finance and a good plan: countries need stronger systems for coordination and accountability, financial and economic levers that turn priorities into investment and action, and sustained engagement across government, the private sector, and civil society. With renewed financial support from the governments of Ireland and Germany, we remain committed to supporting countries as they meet this challenge.”
Alongside the negotiations, the NAP Implementation Alliance offers a pathway from plans to action. Launched at COP30, it aims to help developing countries turn their NAPs into concrete, investable programs and connect them with technical assistance and funding. The NAP Global Network is among the partners supporting this effort.
COP 31 will take place in Antalya, Turkey from 9 to 20 November. The NAP Global Network is participating in and leading a number of different events, for full details see here.
ENDS
For more details contact:
Adrian Estanol, Communications Officer, NAP Global Network, aestanol@iisd.ca
Juliet Perry, Communications Manager, IISD Resilience and NAP Global Network, jperry@iisd.ca
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