The Growth Of The Global Adaptation Economy

Around the world, there is a rapidly growing need for solutions to tackle the physical impacts of climate change. In response, we are seeing an emergence of innovative start-ups and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in the Global South, providing a wide range of products and services aimed at tackling different climate threats across different communities and sectors of the economy, tailored to local contexts and needs. Examples of these include:

• Low-cost climate risk mapping tools, combining open-source earth observation data with cheap drone technology,
• New crop types, seed treatments and smart irrigation equipment that perform better under adverse conditions,
• Nature-based cooling solutions for buildings and urban areas,

These businesses represent a significant component of the new ‘adaptation economy’ that is steadily growing around the world and providing an exciting opportunity for investors.

At the same time, the adaptation economy is a tiny fraction of the size of the more mature and advanced mitigation economy. Entrepreneurs and their businesses still face many challenges to establishing effective adaptation-focused business models, while most investors are not equipped with the knowledge and tools to effectively assess potential investment opportunities in this new dimension of the green economy.

This event will invite a discussion and exchange of views among Entrepreneurial Service Organizations (ESOs) with a focus on climate startups and MSMEs, adaptation-focused MSMEs, green investors and international organisations e.g. UN agencies, development banks. The event will be in the form of presentations and roundtable discussions exchanging learnings and collaboration opportunities on the Adaptation Economy: growth and needs, opportunities and challenges.

Focusing question: How do we drive investment at scale into climate adaptation and resilience measures?

Programs profiled will be the Climate Adaptation Innovation Learning (CAIL) project, managed by Climate-KIC on behalf of UNIDO and the GEF. Partner organisations will also be invited to participate and share their perspectives.