Nairobi (Kaab TV) – Climate change is wreaking financial havoc across the globe, with damages averaging $143 billion (£113 billion) annually between 2000 and 2019, according to recent research.
As climate impacts intensify, these losses are expected to escalate further.
Developing countries bear a disproportionate burden. While wealthier nations often report higher absolute financial losses, poorer countries suffer greater economic impacts relative to their GDP.
They also endure the most severe consequences in terms of lives lost and communities disrupted.
As global leaders convene in Baku to negotiate a new climate finance goal, the focus is on addressing the “needs and priorities” of developing nations, not just the financial contributions of wealthier countries.
“The needs have obviously gotten a lot bigger because we’ve failed to mitigate [reduce emissions],” says Charlene Watson, a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute. “[They] are just tremendous.”
For poorer nations, the stakes are higher than ever, with calls for urgent action to fund adaptation and resilience measures growing louder.