Today at the 25th UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze pledged an additional 30 million euros to the Adaptation Fund. The fund finances climate change adaptation measures in developing countries. Project funding mainly benefits people heavily impacted by climate change in various regions of the world.
Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze noted: "The Adaptation Fund is a model of success in the international climate finance architecture. It is important to us to continue to support its fruitful work. Our contribution to the fund is also a contribution to global solidarity. It is those who have contributed least to climate change that are suffering the most. Germany takes its international responsibility to finance measures against climate change in developing countries very seriously."
The fund finances, for instance, early warning systems for floods and heavy rainfall, and measures for securing water supply and switching to drought-resistant farming methods in agriculture. Germany is one of the largest donors to the Adaptation Fund, having contributed 310 million euros to date. The Federal Environment Ministry is active on behalf of Germany in the work of the international board, which is primarily made up of developing countries.
So far, the Adaptation Fund has approved over 100 projects and programmes worldwide with a total funding volume of 720 million US dollars. An additional 41 projects with a funding volume of approximately 248 million US dollars are in the pipeline.
Sweden, Spain, Italy, Norway, Belgium and Belgian regions are major supporters of the fund alongside Germany. At last year's Climate Change Conference in Katowice, it was decided that the fund, which was established under the Kyoto Protocol, will in future come under the Paris Agreement to ensure its permanence. The detailed form of this institutional transition is on the agenda of the climate negotiations in Madrid.