'Adapt or die': Why climate action is so critical

The document emphasizes the critical need to shift climate adaptation from top-down commitments to locally led action. While COP26 established a goal to double adaptation finance by 2025, the authors highlight a significant gap in funding for local-level initiatives, noting that less than 10% of global climate finance reaches local actors. They advocate for the adoption of the Global Commission on Adaptation's eight Principles for Locally Led Adaptation to redress power imbalances and ensure resources reach frontline communities, citing successful examples in Kenya, India, and the Gran Chaco region.

• At COP26, countries established the first globally agreed adaptation finance goal, committing to double the levels of adaptation finance from 2019 by the year 2025.
• There is a severe lack of funding for local-level climate action, with less than 10% of global climate finance allocated to it. A review of 374 community-based projects worldwide found that only approximately 6% (22 projects) aligned with locally led adaptation.
• Locally led solutions have proven effective in various regions: Kenya uses county-level funds for sand dam development and rainwater harvesting to combat drought, and the Gran Chaco region in South America utilizes crowdsourced early warning systems and flood protection managed by Indigenous and women-led groups.
• The Global Commission on Adaptation's eight Principles for Locally Led Adaptation aim to replace top-down funding models with a system that redresses power imbalances, allowing local communities closest to climate impacts to determine the use of finance.
• Climate change is projected to push an additional 130 million people below the poverty line by 2030, increasing the urgency of addressing climate injustice.

APA

Mathai, W., & Patel, S. (2022). 'Adapt or die': Why climate action is so critical. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/opinion-it-s-time-to-turn-climate-change-adaptation-ambition-into-action/

Chicago

Mathai, Wanjira, and Sheela Patel. 'Adapt or die': Why climate action is so critical. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/opinion-it-s-time-to-turn-climate-change-adaptation-ambition-into-action/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mathai |first1=Wanjira |last2=Patel |first2=Sheela |title='Adapt or die': Why climate action is so critical |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=23 February 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/opinion-it-s-time-to-turn-climate-change-adaptation-ambition-into-action/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mathai2022adapt, author = {Mathai, Wanjira and Patel, Sheela}, title = {{'Adapt or die': Why climate action is so critical}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/opinion-it-s-time-to-turn-climate-change-adaptation-ambition-into-action/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }