Experts warn of funding crisis amid growing global disaster: 'Political decision-makers claim that it is impossible to measure...'

According to a new study, the availability of funding to help some countries implement measures for climate mitigation and adaptation is at risk because many relatively affluent countries question the validity of indicators that measure the progress of adaptation.

What's happening?

The world's climate this year, maybe more than any other in our history, highlights the need for measures to help mitigate and adapt to our overheating planet. 2024 is virtually guaranteed to be the warmest year on record. Our planet has experienced its warmest summer and hottest single day in its 175-year climate record. A study of the 10 deadliest extreme weather events of the past 20 years by World Weather Attribution found that they were all made more intense because of our warming world.

Progress in adaptation is closely tied to sufficient funding, though skepticism about the reliability of adaptation indicators persists in much of the Global North, the most affluent countries of the world primarily found in North America and Europe. The countries that make up the Global South, consisting of mainly comparatively lower-income countries in Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, could be denied the money they need to try to tackle the impacts of climate change.

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"If political decision-makers claim that it is impossible to measure the success of adaptation measures due to their complexity, this can have an impact on the financing of such measures," warned Dr. Lisa Schipper, a professor in the Department of Geographical Development Research at the University of Bonn, per Phys.org. "Without such indicators, however, the countries of the Global South fear that their arguments for funding will come to nothing."

Why is funding for climate mitigation and adaptation measures important?

Schipper is one of the lead authors of a study published in the journal Science that found the exploitation of the perceived lack of measurability in climate adaptation strategies as a pretext to reduce funding is hurting the poor.

"Two dimensions of adaptation in particular have received considerable focus: the risk of maladaptation and the contention that any metrics to assess success are likely to fall short of capturing all dimensions of adaptation," according to the study. "Although these conclusions are grounded in academic evidence, problems arise when policymakers interpret such findings in overly simplistic ways with possible negative implications on adaptation finance and implementation."

Watch now: Did you know your sauce packets could help save the planet?

What's being done about helping poorer, more vulnerable, lower-income countries with funding?

Studies have shown that investments in climate mitigation and adaptation measures can deliver benefits that greatly exceed the up-front expenses. Every dollar invested in five key adaptation areas could yield between $2 to $10 in total net benefits, according to a study by the Global Commission on Adaptation.

Helping to spread the word and raise awareness of the shortfall in funding for some of the countries that most need it can help. This could mean exploring critical climate issues and talking about them with family and friends. Donating to worthy causes aimed at helping vulnerable countries is another way to help.