Ahead of this year’s top climate summit in Baku, a loose affiliation of 60 foundations attempting to bolster climate solutions are on course to provide between $650 to $700 million in climate resilience funding for 2024. 

The Adaptation and Resilience Collaborative for Funders (ARC) emerged after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) held last year in the UAE. Brought together by the ClimateWorks Foundation, the group gave at least $600 million in funding in 2023. 

Jess Ayers, the CEO of the Quadrature Climate Foundation that is part of the ARC, spoke of looking forward to the upcoming COP29 summit held in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

‘Every fraction of a degree matters in a world full of communities already dealing with the immediate and outsized impacts of the climate crisis, especially the 6.3 billion people, or 75% of the global population who sweltered in extreme heat over the last year alone,’ said Ayers. 

A report by the UN environment programme published in 2023 found that adaptation finance needs of developing countries are 10-18 times as big as international public finance flows. 

An estimated $387 billion per year of adaptation finance is needed to implement domestic policies. 

‘Adapting to the tragic impacts of the climate crisis is an economic and social imperative, essential for ensuring safe and prosperous communities and local economies for all. As extreme climate events continue to push humanity and ecosystems to the limits of a liveable world, investing in climate adaptation and resilience is necessary for today and our collective future,’ said Helen Mountford, president and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation. 

COP29 is to be centered on climate funding, with delegates from over 200 countries at the two-week forum between 11 and 22 November.  

There is room for improvement as less than 2 per cent of global philanthropy was dedicated to climate change mitigation in 2021, according to a report by ClimateWorks.  

Despite the lowly figures, a shift may be apparent. Between 2020 and 2021, funding for climate mitigation increased by more than 40 per cent, due to the arrival of major new donors such as the Bezos Earth Fund and commitments from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the IKEA Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, according to ClimateWorks. 

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine