Allocation of Aid for Adaptation to Climate Change: Do vulnerable countries receive more support?

Donors spend increasing amounts of aid to support adaptation to climate change in developing countries. Yet, we know surprisingly little about where this aid goes. Do the most vulnerable receive most aid, as a climate justice perspective would suggest and as the international community has promised? In this paper, we examine the role of vulnerability in the allocation of aid for adaptation to climate change. We do so through a quantitative analysis of data from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development on adaptation aid from 2011 through 2014. In contrast to other studies, we find that vulnerability – or more precisely: vulnerability indicators – matter for adaptation aid allocation. Countries that are more exposed to climate change risks, such as extreme weather events or sea level rise, receive more adaptation aid, both on a per capita basis and in percent of all adaptation aid. While the results bode well, for vulnerable developing countries as well as for the fragmentation of the climate finance regime, our analysis is but a first step toward a better understanding of adaptation aid. Thus, the paper serves as a starting point for more detailed analyses of adaptation priorities and decision-making, at the donor and the recipient level.