Countries have failed to adapt for unavoidable climate damage, UN says

Cop26 is told that millions of lives at risk without focus on preparing for problems that are already inevitable

Extreme weather driven by climate breakdown is hitting the world “with a new ferocity”, the UN has said, but countries have so far failed to prepare for the widespread damage that is now inevitable even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

Developing countries are particularly at risk, but they are unable to muster the cash needed to defend people and resources from flooding, droughts and sea level rises. They are likely to need between $140bn and $300bn a year by the end of this decade to cope with the impacts, but in 2019 received only $80bn in climate finance, which included cash to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

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