Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach

The study analyzes 320 adaptation investments totaling $133 billion across 12 countries, finding an average economic internal rate of return (EIRR) of 26.7%. Using the Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework, the authors demonstrate that benefits from induced economic development and social/environmental gains often double the value of avoided losses, meaning many investments are viable regardless of whether a climate disaster occurs. The paper highlights significant synergies between adaptation and mitigation, noting that nearly half of the evaluated projects yield GHG emission reductions. It recommends that multilateral development banks and governments adopt common reporting frameworks and disaggregate benefits to attract private capital.

• Adaptation investments analyzed between 2014 and 2024 show an average return on investment (ROI) of 27 percent, with a total cost of $133 billion generating estimated benefits of $1.4 trillion over a 10-year period.
• The Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework identifies three types of benefits: avoided losses (first dividend), induced economic development (second dividend), and social and environmental benefits (third dividend). The second and third dividends are often double the value of avoided losses, meaning the viability of many projects does not depend on a disaster occurring.
• There is a strong synergy between adaptation and mitigation, with nearly half of the evaluated investments producing GHG emission reduction benefits, particularly in the energy and forestry subsectors.
• Returns vary significantly by subsector: the highest average returns are found in health and disaster risk management due to reduced mortality and morbidity, while sustainable agriculture and forestry returns are driven by poverty reduction and mitigation co-benefits.
• Current economic appraisals of adaptation are often incomplete; only 8.4 percent of the 320 projects in the AdapTDR database valued all three dividends, and 74 percent of projects citing avoided-loss benefits did not actually provide a monetary value for them.
• The most successful high-return investments typically combine 'upstream' components, such as risk assessments and institutional capacity building, with 'downstream' on-the-ground resilience-building activities.

APA

Brandon, C., Kratzer, B., Aggarwal, A., & Heubaum, H. (2025). Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach. World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-06/strengthening-investment-case-climate-adaptation.pdf?VersionId=een52ahEiIO4IaOA6e8ps4fQCN4xTtph&_gl=1*nbbbp*_gcl_au*MTIwNjQxNjg1MS4xNzYxMzU4MTkx

Chicago

Brandon, Carter, Bradley Kratzer, Aarushi Aggarwal, and Harald Heubaum. Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach. World Resources Institute, 2025. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-06/strengthening-investment-case-climate-adaptation.pdf?VersionId=een52ahEiIO4IaOA6e8ps4fQCN4xTtph&_gl=1*nbbbp*_gcl_au*MTIwNjQxNjg1MS4xNzYxMzU4MTkx.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Brandon |first1=Carter |last2=Kratzer |first2=Bradley |last3=Aggarwal |first3=Aarushi |last4=Heubaum |first4=Harald |title=Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=June 2025 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-06/strengthening-investment-case-climate-adaptation.pdf?VersionId=een52ahEiIO4IaOA6e8ps4fQCN4xTtph&_gl=1*nbbbp*_gcl_au*MTIwNjQxNjg1MS4xNzYxMzU4MTkx |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{brandon2025strengthening, author = {Brandon, Carter and Kratzer, Bradley and Aggarwal, Aarushi and Heubaum, Harald}, title = {{Strengthening the investment case for climate adaptation: A triple dividend approach}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-06/strengthening-investment-case-climate-adaptation.pdf?VersionId=een52ahEiIO4IaOA6e8ps4fQCN4xTtph&_gl=1*nbbbp*_gcl_au*MTIwNjQxNjg1MS4xNzYxMzU4MTkx}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }