Analysing the allocation of international adaptation funding in relation to the societal impacts of climate-related hazards

Climate change is altering the intensity and frequency of climate-related hazards, which, combined with rising vulnerability and exposure of people to such hazards, is leading to increased disaster risk. This particularly threatens the populations of developing countries, especially those living in mountainous regions. In this context, climate change adaptation is an approach with great potential to save lives and to ensure sustainable development. However, uncertainties remain about whether current adaptation measures are effectively addressing the most serious disaster risks. This Master’s thesis explored this issue globally for developing countries and specifically for High Mountain Asia countries. The study compared fatalities caused by four types of hazards (i.e. riverine floods, landslides, glacial lake outburst floods, and snow avalanches) with the amount of adaptation funding from two international climate funds of the UNFCCC finance mechanism (i.e. the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund). The analysis revealed that the deadliest hazards do not necessarily receive the most funding. In particular, snow avalanches are relatively underfunded, while GLOFs receive substantial funding despite causing fewer fatalities than other hazards. This imbalance reflects that many other factors influence the distribution of adaptation funding, such as political considerations or hazard perceptions. It further indicates the need for a more detailed analysis of the allocation of financial resources from other components of both the UNFCCC and non-UNFCCC finance mechanisms. This would provide a more comprehensive picture of funding distribution, supporting the development of strategies to enable an efficient allocation of adaptation funding.