New report: Adaptation to climate change

Floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels: developing countries are particularly affected by the consequences of climate change. Germany supports developing countries in adapting to these consequences. However, particularly vulnerable countries such as small island developing states receive considerably less German funding than would be expected. This is shown in a new report by DEval.

Germany plans to spend a total of four billion euros on international climate financing in 2020. Around half of the funds will be spent on measures to adapt to climate change. These range from flood protection and early warning systems to protect coastal areas from tidal waves to more efficient irrigation systems in drought regions.

DEval has analysed the programmes and measures of German climate financing, their embedding in international climate policy and the concrete allocation of funds to individual countries. The analysis shows that Germany's climate policy is clearly oriented towards international priorities: The level of financial commitments, the goals for establishing new partnerships and the support of a comprehensive approach to climate risk management are in line with international agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

However, the actual allocation of funds presents a more differentiated picture. Although climate-vulnerable countries are more likely to receive German funds for adaptation than countries that are less vulnerable, the degree of vulnerability, however, does not systematically affect the amount of funds. Contrary to the aspirations of the German government, small island developing states, for example, which are particularly hard hit by the consequences of climate change, benefit less frequently and to a lesser extent from German adaptation funds than other states. Ultimately, the funds are concentrated in countries where many other donors are also active in the field of climate adaptation. Overall, therefore, the German adaptation portfolio only partly meets the German government's own and international demands on its climate policy commitment.

The report "Evaluation of Climate Change Adaptation Measures. Portfolio and Allocation Analysis" is the first of several reports that DEval is producing as part of its evaluation of measures for adaptation to climate change.

Scientific contact

Dr Sven Harten

Head of Competence Centre for Evaluation Methodology, Deputy Director

Phone: +49 (0)228 336907-950
sven.harten[at]DEval.org