Multilateral adaptation finance for systemic resilience

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute argues that multilateral adaptation finance largely treats climate risk as a local phenomenon, failing to address transboundary and 'teleconnected' risks that cross borders through trade, financial flows, and shared ecosystems. The authors propose a shift toward 'systemic resilience'—interventions focusing on whole systems rather than individual countries—to deliver shared benefits for both recipient and contributor nations.

• Transboundary climate risks are categorized by type and complexity. Types include shared resources and ecosystems, trade links, movement of people, financial flows, and shared infrastructure. Complexity levels range from 'common' risks (shared by neighboring countries due to proximity), 'shared' risks (knock-on effects crossing borders of neighbors), and 'teleconnected' risks (impacts crossing borders of non-neighboring countries via systems like commodity markets).
• Analysis of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Adaptation Fund (AF), and the Climate Investment Funds (CIFs) between 2010 and 2020 reveals that most adaptation funding is directed to individual countries for national or local projects. The GCF and CIFs committed only a small percentage of funding to regional projects, while the AF committed approximately 26.28%.
• Most regional adaptation projects focus on 'common risks' (such as cyclones in the Caribbean or drought in the Niger Basin) and emphasize coordination and knowledge exchange rather than risks that cross national borders. None of the analyzed funds supported projects addressing 'teleconnected' risks involving non-neighboring countries.
• The authors propose two ways to operationalize systemic resilience. First, current project-based funding models can be used for lower-complexity transboundary risks, such as shared resources or regional cooperation. Second, complex teleconnected risks require 'paradigm-shifting' approaches that move from short-term national projects to long-term international cooperation, involving actors like the G20, the World Food Programme (WFP), or the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• Several barriers hinder the adoption of systemic resilience in climate finance, including the project-based approach (limited to 5-7 year timeframes), the country-level administration model, and eligibility requirements. For example, the Adaptation Fund's mandate to fund only 'developing countries' prevents investments in middle-income exporters (like India) that could benefit lower-income importers.
• Despite barriers, there are incentives for a systemic approach: recipient countries could see reduced barriers to access and increased overall support, while contributor countries would benefit from decreased exposure to climate impacts on trade. New actors like the WFP may also seek these approaches to reduce vulnerability before crises occur.

APA

Browne, K., Beaussart, R., Benzie, M., Canales, N., Klein, R., Harris, K., Haque, N., Lager, F., Lindblom, A., Marbuah, G., & McAuley, S. (2022). Multilateral adaptation finance for systemic resilience. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/sei-brief-multilateral-adaptation-finance-browne-2022.pdf

Chicago

Browne, Katherine, Raphaelle Beaussart, Magnus Benzie, Nella Canales, Richard Klein, Katy Harris, Nabil Haque, et al. Multilateral adaptation finance for systemic resilience. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/sei-brief-multilateral-adaptation-finance-browne-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{browne2022multilateral, author = {Browne, Katherine and Beaussart, Raphaelle and Benzie, Magnus and Canales, Nella and Klein, Richard and Harris, Katy and Haque, Nabil and Lager, Frida and Lindblom, Andrea and Marbuah, George and McAuley, Sarah}, title = {{Multilateral adaptation finance for systemic resilience}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/sei-brief-multilateral-adaptation-finance-browne-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }