COP27: Gates Foundation CEO calls for more cash for climate adaptation

COP27 (file image)

The world's development banks need to prioritise helping poorer countries adapt to the impacts of climate change, the chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation told Reuters.

Speaking on the sidelines of the COP27 climate talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Mark Suzman said while investment in so-called adaptation finance had increased, it was still "far short of what is needed".

Adaptation is set to be a central theme of the conference on Tuesday. The foundation on Monday pledged $1.4 billion to help smallholder farmers become more resilient, its biggest contribution to adaptation so far.

The world's biggest multilateral development banks spent $17 billion on adaptation finance for poorer countries in 2021, a recent report by the lenders showed.

Yet as a global energy and food security crunch in the wake of conflict in Ukraine compounds the worsening impacts of climate change, MDBs such as the World Bank - collectively the biggest providers of cheap finance for low and middle income countries - needed to do more, Suzman said.

"That connection between food security and climate adaptation is so clear, no one can contest it and so what are going to be the action plans and resources to now turn that into real implementation?," he said.

His comments come as political leaders including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen call for a fundamental restructuring of how MDBs invests, given the need for quicker action on climate.