Joint methodology for tracking climate change adaptation finance

Climate resilience and adaptation are intrinsically linked to development. This makes it challenging to accurately estimate adaptation finance in development operations. In response to this challenge, the joint MDB Working Group on Climate Finance Tracking developed a common adaptation finance tracking methodology in 2012. This common methodology has been applied to assessing and reporting multilateral development bank (MDB) finance directed to specific adaptation activities that are carried out in response to experienced and anticipated climate change impacts.

The joint MDB methodology seeks to identify the links between adaptation activities and the project’s explicit intent to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Only activities that directly address climate change vulnerability are considered when estimating the adaptation finance. This means that the volume of MDB-reported adaptation finance is an estimate of the finance associated with specific project activities that contribute to adapting to climate change.