Turning Blueprints Into Billions: COP30 Pushes for Investible Adaptation Plans

Every COP has its mantras. At the Glasgow conference in 2021, it was “keep 1.5 alive”. At last year’s gathering in Baku, the buzzword “finance COP” was ubiquitous.

The Belém summit, which is entering its final day, has several. “Global mutirão” has gained the most traction — a reference to the collective effort countries have to make towards a livable climate. But in certain side events and corner gatherings, other slogans are being aired. Variations on “Make National Adaptation Plans Investible” are among them.

National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are country-level blueprints for building climate resilience. Established at COP16, the NAP process is supposed to help poor nations identify and meet their adaptation needs. As of the time of writing, 72 developing countries have submitted such plans to the UNFCCC, outlining an array of needs — from strengthening coastal defenses in Antigua and Barbuda to constructing new irrigation works in Vietnam.

However, few have secured the finance necessary to turn these from paper promises into concrete action. A recent NAP progress report found that in total, developing countries have received just US$6.9bn from the Green Climate Fund and US$22.6bn from co-financing partners to implement their plans — and that’s over the last decade. For context, total climate finance flows in 2023 alone came to US$1.9trn, according to the Climate Policy Initiative.