Preparing Financing Strategies for Adaptation: Emerging good practices

This research paper describes a review of 24 financing strategies for adaptation in developing countries, conducted as part of a four-year project to scale up development finance. The authors analyze the diversity of these strategies—ranging from high-level support documents to detailed costing frameworks—and provide emerging insights and established good practices to help governments better secure and manage funding for climate adaptation.

• A review of 24 financing strategies for adaptation in developing countries revealed a wide variety of approaches. These included 10 'discrete financing strategies' focused solely on adaptation and 14 'general financing strategies for climate action' that bundled adaptation with broader climate goals. Document lengths varied significantly, from an eight-page strategy for the Island States in the Indian Ocean to a 123-page framework for Cambodia.
• The review identified several gaps in current financing strategies: many countries lack the data to calculate adaptation financing gaps or the cost estimates for specific actions. Additionally, few strategies analyzed which adaptation projects are best suited for specific financial instruments (such as private sector investment) or included mechanisms to monitor and evaluate success.
• The authors propose four emerging insights for future strategies: first, countries may avoid expensive and time-consuming finance gap calculations in favor of identifying short-term priority areas; second, public finance should be used strategically to leverage private investment; third, adaptation ministries must integrate their priorities into broader national financial planning (such as COVID-19 recovery or SDGs); and fourth, there is a critical need for better country-level tracking of adaptation finance flows.
• Three established good practices are recommended to increase the likelihood of securing funding: ensuring strategies are country-driven and fit-for-purpose, involving ministries of finance and planning due to their connections with financial actors, and engaging international funders like multilateral development banks during the development process.

APA

Evans,, J.-E. P. M. (2022). Preparing Financing Strategies for Adaptation: Emerging good practices. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/financing-strategies-adaptation

Chicago

Evans,, Jo-Ellen Parry,Deborah Murphy,Alanna. Preparing Financing Strategies for Adaptation: Emerging good practices. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/financing-strategies-adaptation.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Evans, |first1=Jo-Ellen Parry,Deborah Murphy,Alanna |title=Preparing Financing Strategies for Adaptation: Emerging good practices |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=25 August 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/financing-strategies-adaptation |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{evans2022preparing, author = {Evans,, Jo-Ellen Parry,Deborah Murphy,Alanna}, title = {{Preparing Financing Strategies for Adaptation: Emerging good practices}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/financing-strategies-adaptation}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }