Earth Today | Addressing the adaptation finance gap - New call for proposals targets innovators

FOR THE Caribbean, where climate vulnerabilities are clearly in evidence and heat is a constant reminder of what is at stake, if islands do not successfully adapt to climate change, there is a new opportunity for funding that supports innovative solutions.

The opportunity is being provided through the new call for proposals from the United Nations Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), under the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA). The call invites innovators from the Caribbean and Latin America to submit innovative climate adaptation solutions.

Adaptation is considered one of the essential responses to climate change, which is fuelled by the human consumption of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, that cause the emission of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane that catastrophically warm the planet. Adaptation, meanwhile, is concerned with making adjustments in natural, social, and economic systems in order to reduce the impacts of climate change and take advantage of any potential opportunities. 

It also involves developing and implementing solutions that help communities and countries cope with current and future climate risks. Those climate risks include extreme weather events, the likes of the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica last October, leaving death and billions of dollars in destruction in its shadow.

According to a recent notice from the Adaptation Fund, the intention with the new call for proposals is to provide innovators with technical assistance to help them “bring their climate adaptation solutions to life”.

The Adaptation Fund has since 2010 committed more than US$1.6 billion for climate change adaptation and resilience projects and programmes across the developing world, including Jamaica and the Caribbean. It has also led the Direct Access approach to project development and management, empowering countries to take ownership of their adaptation projects.

AFCIA, meanwhile, is intended to enable organizations and communities to develop and scale innovative solutions that strengthen resilience to climate change. Through a combination of financial support and technical expertise, AFCIA works to help turn promising ideas into impactful actions. 

Under the new call for proposals, which opens until August 18, a reported 40 projects are to be selected “with each project eligible to receive up to USD 150,000 in technical assistance support”.

“Rather than transferring grants directly, UN CTCN’s programme provides technical assistance support designed to strengthen institutional capacity, facilitate knowledge sharing, and connect projects with specialised expertise and resources,” the CTCN explained in a May 18 report on the call for proposals.

The call for proposal comes in the wake of the 2025 Adaptation Gap Report for the United Nations Environment Programme, which paints a picture of global coffers running on empty when it comes to financing for adaptation.

“The adaptation finance needs of developing countries by 2035 are at least 12 times as much as current international public adaptation finance flows,” the report revealed.

Titled Running on Empty: The world is gearing up for climate resilience – without the money to get there, the report puts the adaptation finance needed in the developing world at between US$310 billion and US$365 billion per year by 2035 (in 2023 prices). It also highlighted the decline in international public finance flows for adaptation, from developed to developing countries, from US$28 billion in 2022 to US$26 billion in 2023.

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