Adapting to the impacts of climate change

Climate change is here. A staggering 3.6 billion peopled — nearly half of the global population — are currently highly vulnerable to climate change impacts, from droughts, floods and storms to heat stress and food insecurity. And this number will only continue to rise as long as global temperatures keep climbing.

Beyond doing everything we can to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow the pace of global warming, we must adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

What can you do?

There are many ways to adapt to what is happening and what will happen. You can plant or preserve trees around your home, for instance, to keep temperatures cooler inside. Clearing brush might reduce fire hazards. If you own a business, start thinking about and planning around possible climate risks, such as hot days that prevent workers from doing outside tasks. Find out more here.

Gearing up for big changes

Our economies and societies as a whole need to become more resilient to climate impacts. This will require large-scale efforts, many of which will be orchestrated by governments. Roads and bridges may need to be built or adapted to withstand higher temperatures and more powerful storms. Some cities on coastlines may have to establish systems to prevent flooding in streets and underground transport. Mountainous regions may have to find ways to limit landslides and overflow from melting glaciers.

Spending now saves lives and reduces costs later on

Investing in adaptation makes a lot more sense than waiting and trying to catch up later. Protecting people now saves more lives and reduces risks moving forward. It makes financial sense too because the longer we wait, the more the costs will escalate.

Think about this. Globally, a $1.8 trillion investment in early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, improved agriculture, global mangrove protection along coastlines and resilient water resources could generate $7.1 trillion through a combination of avoided costs and a variety of social and environmental benefits. Universal access to early warning systems can deliver benefits up to 10 times the initial cost. And if more farms installed solar-powered irrigation, used new crop varieties, had access to weather alert systems and took other adaptive measures, the world would avoid a drop-off in global agricultural yields of up to 30 per cent by 2050. (Click here for more action facts on adaptation.)

Priority must go to the most vulnerable

While the case for adaptation is clear, some communities most vulnerable to climate change are the least able to adapt because they are poor and/or in developing countries already struggling to come up with enough resources for basics like health care and education. Estimated adaptation costs in developing countries could reach $387 billion every year by 2030. But adaptation finance reached only $32.4 billion in 2022.

What have countries agreed to do?

All Parties to the Paris Agreement committed to strengthening the global response to climate change by increasing the ability of all to adapt and build resilience, and reduce vulnerability. See more details here.

Under Article 7.1 of the Paris Agreement, a Global Goal on Adaptation sets out a collective commitment aimed at “enhancing [the world’s] adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change.”

Since 2011, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a number of countries have developed National Adaptation Plans. To date, only 55 countries have submitted such a plan: just over a third of developing countries, half of least developed countries, and a third of small island developing states. Check if your country has one and what it says. Or get the latest updates on how countries are elaborating plans as part of national development strategies.

Making it happen

The UN Secretary-General has called for a global surge in adaptation finance for vulnerable countries – and new ways of collaborating. Pioneering examples of new collaborative models are the partnerships between Tuvalu and Australia and the Dominican Republic and Spain, which aim to ramp up finance flows to turn adaptation priorities into investment opportunities, and, ultimately, action on-the-ground.

A number of other efforts are underway to help people adapt to climate change. One is the global Adaptation Fund, which finances pioneering initiatives in developing countries. You can see if your country has a project.

Many solutions to climate change lie in nature. Learn more about ecosystem-based adaptation and six ways that nature can protect us.

For an example of so-called nature-based solutions, find out how communities in Djibouti are restoring mangrove forests, which protect against sea-level rise, provide food for people and offer a haven for plants and animals.

It might seem like nature-based solutions are mostly for the countryside. But cities are also boosting resilience by turning to nature. In El Salvador, the capital, San Salvador, aims to become a “sponge city” by restoring surrounding forests to limit landslides and floods, and improving drainage in ways that mimic natural streams and rivers.

In the United States, the coastal city of Miami is raising street levels and developing green infrastructure, tandem with ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Explore more

The Adaptation Gap Report chronicles slow progress in climate adaptation, for reasons that include a lack of finance, and showcases nature-based solutions. Seven lessons on adapting to climate change draws on experiences to date.

How can the world save 23,000 lives and gain $162 billion in benefits a year? By improving weather forecasts, early warning systems and climate information. See the Hydromet Gap Report.

Adapt Now, from the Global Commission on Adaptation, details benefits from adaptation to urge action by governments, businesses, investors and community leaders. The Economic Case for Nature shows how protecting ecosystems can avoid trillions in losses to national economies.

A practical guide to climate-resilient buildings offers tips for construction, especially in communities with few professionally trained architects and engineers.

One more consideration is closing the digital divide to generate more and better data and predict climate risks in time.

Read up on the science

The IPCC’s report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability assesses the impacts of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels. It also reviews vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural world and human societies to adapt to climate change.

The World Adaptation Science Programme links researchers, policymakers and practitioners to create and share knowledge that can shape adaptation policy and action. Recent briefs cover issues like adapting across borders and so-called “high-end” climate change, where temperatures climb so high that climate consequences would be even more extreme.

Join the global movement

Check out the Race to Resilience for 4 billion people by 2030. Better yet, be ambitious, create an initiative and apply to join the drive for a safer world.

To help heal the planet, be part of the mobilizing around the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, which aims to prevent, halt and reverse environmental degradation in the next 10 years. Share the word on climate action with the UN’s digital assets.