1. UNDERSTANDING ADAPTATION GAPS – INNOVATIVE FINANCIAL ADVISORS PVT. LTD.
Over the past few decades, nations have come together to cope with the adverse effects of climate
change. Through various summits, conferences and negotiations we have agreed on certain policies
and targets that we would like to achieve and changes we would adapt during the course of time.
However, there was an increasing demand from various nations to the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to provide information to the public on the adaptation gaps.
Adaptation gaps are basically the gap between the actual level of climate change impacts and the level
that we could have actually achieved with more comprehensive efforts. Recent measurements
conducted by UNEP suggest that there are adaptation gaps in terms of funding, technology and
knowledge.
Today, as we are working towards reduction of greenhouse emissions, it is believed that even if we
stabilize the emissions level that are consistent with the temperature goals, yet the impact of climate
change will be felt. The impact will be more on the developing and the underdeveloped economies,
Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. believes there is urgent need to scale up adaptation efforts.
Surely, the Green Climate Fund which accounts for US$10 Billion will play a crucial role in bridging
the funding gap; still there will be major financial requirements after 2020. It is estimated that the
world would require US$ 70 Billion to US$100 Billion annually as adaptation costs for the developing
countries. Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. understands that the costs of adaptation are likely to
be 2 to 3 times higher than the estimates made so far and would increase towards 2050. Simply put, if
the temperatures continues to rise the adaptation costs will increase accordingly.
One of the major constraints of climate change adaptation measures are technological gaps. Countries
need to become technologically advanced to meet their population needs and not harm to the climate.
The developed and developing countries will play a crucial role in the years to come in promotion and
transfer of technology and information to the least developed ones. There will be financial
requirements to conduct research and development of technologies that will help the existing
technologies adjust to local conditions such as insurance solutions, high yield crop varieties, water use
efficiency technologies among others. Sharing technologies and expertise among nations will help
bridge the adaptation gap.
The Greek philosopher Plato, once said that ‘A good decision is based on knowledge and not on
numbers’, therefore, in order to make the adaptation measures more effective, integration of
knowledge and dissemination of it is extremely crucial. Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd.
believes knowledge dissemination to the decision makers and public will help in programme framing
and design, involving all stakeholders. Knowledge sharing will help analyze the cost-benefit of

2. adaptation strategy in a particular region and ensure there is a collaborative effort by researchers,
decision makers, practitioners and other stakeholders.
It is often said that adaptation is local, while mitigation is global. It might be true but in the current
situation even adaptation needs a global outlook. There is an unequal distribution of adaptation
challenges across the world; therefore, a global framework is required which has clear goals, targets
and metrics directed towards specific regions. The road ahead is surely going to be tough and
challenging, but together all nations can achieve what we have never achieved in the history of
mankind.
By Rahul Choudhury
Media Team – Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd.