Though the precise volume of adaptation finance needs remains challenging to calculate, it is clear that current adaptation finance flows are several orders of magnitude below the lower boundary of adaptation cost estimates advanced. Immense collective ambition is required to bridge the gap.

In 2023, the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) along with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) conducted a comprehensive analysis of the global status and trends of adaptation finance, with a deeper analysis of Africa at a regional level, given its heightened adaptation needs and opportunities. This analysis resulted in three reports, which now comprise GCA’s flagship State and Trends in Adaptation 2023 Report (STA23).

STA23 delivers the most up-to-date analysis of the adaptation funding gap and tracking of adaptation finance flows globally and in Africa while underscoring the importance of a supportive environment (including policies, institutions, and programs) for absorbing finance and implementing the most critical adaptation actions at scale for each country.

While each report presents a set of analyses and recommendations, they are complementary and show the need to speed up and scale up adaptation actions. This overall report is presented as follows:

• Part 1: Accelerating Adaptation Finance—Africa and Global Perspectives
• Part 2: State and Trends in Climate Adaptation Finance
• Part 3: Strategy and Planning to Redouble Adaptation in Africa