Insights on Who Funds Climate Change Adaptation Research in South Africa

(1) Background: This article examines the funding landscape of climate change adaptation research in South Africa to understand the origin, distribution, and thematic prioritization of funding for climate change research in South Africa. (2) Methods: The article used specific search terms to query peer-reviewed publications in the Web of Science and Scopus databases (1985 to 2023). (3) Results: Environmental Science emerged as the most dominant research area during this period, while Agriculture appeared in the top four positions among research areas in climate change adaptation research in South Africa in both databases. The largest number of publications on climate change adaptation research in South Africa is generated through domestic funding, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The National Research Foundation (NRF) had the highest number of publications. The analysis revealed a strong paucity of funding relationship between South Africa and other African countries in the field of climate change adaptation research. (4) Conclusions: Knowledge of these trends can inform policy decisions on funding of climate change adaptation in South Africa and strategic partnerships between South Africa and the rest of the world.