Asia faces a widening climate adaptation and resilience (CA&R) financing gap that could exceed 75% of the global shortfall by 2030, according to a new report.
More than $200 billion is required annually for climate adaptation and resilience across the region, but current funding flows amount to only about $19 billion a year, according to the report.
The report, “Climate Adaptation and Resilience in Asia: Pricing Risk, Sizing Opportunities, Financing Solutions”, was released by the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices in partnership with Temasek, Invesco and ImpactSF (CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance) at the Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS), which commenced here on May 18.
The study identified more than 250 priority climate adaptation and resilience (CA&R) solutions across Asia, based on analysis of over $100 billion in climate financing flows between 2021 and 2025.
It warned that while Asia is warming at nearly twice the global average, financing for climate adaptation remains far below what is needed.
The report said 3.7 billion people in Asia have been affected by climate-related disasters since 2000 — more than three times the number affected in the rest of the world combined.
Asian companies are also projected to face around $336 billion in annual climate-related costs by 2030, underscoring the economic risks of delayed adaptation measures.
Researchers categorised the 250 climate solutions into three tiers based on commercial viability: 94 solutions with low or no commercial viability but critical for resilience-building, 93 emerging opportunities requiring catalytic capital, and 65 commercially viable solutions with proven market track records.
The report also launched a regional financing dashboard tracking public, private and philanthropic capital flows across China, India and Southeast Asia, alongside a case study library featuring 50 examples of climate adaptation initiatives.
Agriculture emerged as one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change, particularly in Southeast Asia.
The report warned that climate stress could reduce crop yields in the region by as much as 41%, threatening the livelihoods of around 100 million smallholder farmers, many of whom survive on less than $2 a day.
While agriculture contributes nearly 10% to Southeast Asia’s GDP, production growth of key staple foods has remained below 1.3% annually over the past decade, the report noted.
Researchers identified several barriers limiting investment into climate adaptation projects, including weak policy frameworks, lack of reliable climate-risk data, fragmented financing structures and difficulties scaling localised solutions.
Despite the challenges, investor interest in climate adaptation financing is growing. Among 165 Asian funders surveyed in the study, nearly half said they were already investing in climate adaptation and resilience, while another 28% were exploring investments in the sector. Together, these funders manage more than $1 trillion in assets.
“Climate adaptation and resilience financing in Asia remains constrained by limited data, fragmented approaches, and uncertainty around where capital can be most effective,” said Dawn Chan, CEO, Centre for Impact Investing and Practices.
“As climate risks intensify, stronger coordination between public, private, and philanthropic capital will be essential to accelerate action,” she added.
The report called for coordinated reforms, including better climate-risk pricing, stronger financial systems, improved data-sharing infrastructure and closer collaboration between governments, investors and philanthropic organisations to scale adaptation financing across Asia.
Published – May 18, 2026 09:39 am IST
