The following is a transcript of remarks by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at a High-Level Dialogue on National Adaptation Plans during the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 18 November 2024.
Excellencies, delegates, friends,
National Adaptation Plans are more necessary than ever. They are truly vital.
This year, we saw how every bit of preparation - every policy, every plan - is the difference between life and death for millions of people around the world.
Prudence demands we plan for the worst.
Many of you know that these plans are not easy to put together. Resources are scarce, both funding and capacity - especially for the most vulnerable, in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
People, communities, nations want to act, to protect themselves and their loved ones, to strengthen their businesses and economies - but they do not have the means to do it.
And when nations can't climate-proof their links in global supply chains, every nation in an interconnected global economy pays the price.
And I mean literally pays the price, in the form of higher inflation, especially in food prices, as savage droughts, wildfires and floods rip through food production.
We must flip this script.
Business-as-usual won't get us there. We need urgent action. We need transformation.
Solutions, born out of the wealth of information and progress already made through existing adaptation efforts. We need data and engaged consultation. But we also need to build on the experience of communities around the world.
Their lessons must serve as a strong foundation for comprehensive National Adaptation Plans.
Of course, we cannot ignore the adaptation elephant in the room: there is a stark financial gap we must bridge.
Adaptation costs are skyrocketing for everyone, especially developing countries. Their costs could rise to $340 billion per year by 2030, reaching as much as $565 billion per year by 2050.
It's easy to become slightly anaesthetized by all these numbers, especially at this finance-focused COP. But let's never allow ourselves to forget: these figures are the difference between safety and life-wrecking disasters for billions of people.
The IPCCs Working Group Two report told us that almost half the human population live in climate vulnerable hotspots, where people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts.
Personally, I find this deeply disturbing, and highly offensive. It certainly keeps me up at night, and I'm guessing it also does so for many of you also.
I also want to talk about another aspect of flipping the script. Let's talk about the massive transformational power of adaptation, beyond its risk mitigation functions.
It's clear that adaptation investments - at the right scale and pace - can be truly transformative.
Not only protecting people and economies, but also driving forward much more opportunity, equality, and prosperity - minimizing losses and damages on lives and livelihoods.
We can no longer rely on small streams of finance.
We need torrents of funding. They need to be easier to access, especially for the most vulnerable countries that often face the biggest barriers.
We must explore innovative financing mechanisms, and provide the technical assistance countries need to formulate their NAPs.
Just a few months ago, at the NAP Expo, I launched the NAPs 3.0 initiative.
One of its main goals is precisely to promote innovative adaptation financing, tailored specifically to the needs of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
And the global financial system must evolve to meet these needs.
And I urge multilateral development banks to think beyond traditional grants and loans.
Philanthropies, the private sector, and bilateral donors must step up with the urgency that this crisis demands, without increasing the debt burden of vulnerable countries.
We must also work to minimize bureaucratic hurdles that so often stand in the way.
The people that receive these investments will not disappoint. They want to adapt. Often, they know better than we do just how to adapt and what adaptation looks like to them on the ground.
Because resilience is in humanity's DNA.
We need only the means.
Every country can and must submit their National Adaptation Plans by 2025.
This is not just a timeline - it is a lifeline. More than that - it's a fast-track to the stronger economies and societies that all countries want and deserve. And that is in every nation's interest, in these turbulent times.
So friends,
This is not a distant dream. It is within reach. It is within our reach.
We have the tools, the science, the ability to achieve these outcomes.
The funding exists. We need to unlock and unblock it.
So I challenge us all here today to think beyond the limitations that we face, flip the script, and let's make it happen.
I, and everyone at the UNFCCC, will support you every step of the way - towards a just, climate resilient future.
I thank you.
