By Jeff Kapembwa

The Pan African and the Islamic Banks are part of the 10 financial institutions mobilising US$185 billion for low and middle income countries to adapt against climate change by 2030 through construction of emission and other emission reduction projects.

Climate experts, in their research findings, find alarming and varying loses incurred by affected countries. Low and middle-income countries have experienced trillions of dollars in economic losses due to climate change, with some estimates placing annual losses for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at an average of $1.7 billion.

The total global economic losses from extreme weather events between 2000 and 2019 are estimated at $2.86 trillion, averaging $143 billion per year, a significant portion of which affects these vulnerable nations disproportionately.

SIDS, reports show, are at the mercy of the crisis, and are facing an average annual economic losses of $1.7 billion attributable to climate change between 2000 and 2022, representing 0.8% of their combined GDP. Direct economic losses from more than 9,700 extreme weather events between 1995 and 2024 amounted to over $4.5 trillion globally (inflation-adjusted). Extreme weather has also been a contributing factor.

Between 2000 and 2019, costs attributed to climate change from 185 extreme weather events totaled $2.86 trillion, averaging $143 billion annually.

A statement issued during the ongoing COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, the 10 development banks want to raise resources that will support climate adaptation and emission reduction projects, as part of their climate action to reduce the impact of the crisis on the people, environment and the ecosystem, generally.

 

Other banks rendering support are the World Bank Group, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), said the package includes $120 billion from the banks’ own resources and $65 billion in mobilized private capital, the statement reads.

The new commitment, announced on the opening day of the COP-30 climate conference, comes amid growing calls over the past decade for industrialized countries to increase financial support for developing nations.

As climate events intensify, African and Asian countries face significant capital needs to fund adaptation projects such as building flood defenses, introducing drought-resistant crops, and restoring mangroves, forests, and wetlands.

In its “Adaptation Gap Report 2025: Running on Empty,” released on October 29, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimated that developing countries will need between $310 billion and $365 billion per year by 2035 to cope with climate impacts. That amount is 12 to 14 times higher than the current commitments of industrialized nations, which reached $26 billion in 2023.

Goldfajn noted that the new pledge adds to the $118 billion already mobilized last year for climate action in developing countries. Financing is expected to remain at the center of discussions in the coming days among the 170 delegations attending the conference, which is taking place without senior U.S. representatives.

The surging climatic change effects on the ecosystem have been severe and its impact on poverty among many households has impacted gravely, chiefly children and the vulnerable.

Climate change could cut average incomes in poorer countries by almost 20%, despite their low carbon footprints. Climate change has the potential to push an additional 41 million people into extreme poverty by 2050, with South Asia alone potentially adding nearly 49 million poor individuals by 2030.

Global warming is projected to worsen economic inequality, potentially delaying income convergence in places like Africa, thus worsening inequality gaps.  Food prices have escalated driven by climate induced actions, and it is feared if not redressed, push more households into poverty.

It is feared delayed climate action could push the global economy to shrink, lamentably, for as low as up to 23% by the end of the century if no action is taken, with poorer countries bearing a disproportionate share of these losses.

Tens of millions of people could be displaced in the next decade due to climate change, creating the largest refugee crisis in history. Climate change is expected to increase deaths from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea, and heat stress.

Climate disasters disrupt education, leading to significant learning losses, especially for children from poorer families.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), estimates alarming levels of displacements of people across the globe.  An estimated 376 million people have been displaced by climate disasters since 2008, with 36.2 million displaced in 2022 alone.

A recent UN report adds impetus. It estimates that 250 million internal displacements occurred due to weather-related disasters in the past decade. The term “climate refugee” is often debated, and while some people are forced to cross borders, the vast majority are internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Key data from the report:

• Three in every four refugees or people displaced by conflict are currently living in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.
• 250 million internal displacements caused by weather-related disasters in the past decade – around 70,000 every day (2 displacements every 3 seconds).
• 1.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025, half to climate-vulnerable areas.
• 75 per cent of land in Africa is deteriorating, with over half of refugee settlements in high-stress areas.
• Nearly all current refugee settlements will face an unprecedented rise in hazardous heat. By 2050, the hottest fifteen refugee camps in the world – located in Gambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali – are projected to face nearly 200 days or more of hazardous heat stress per year.
• By 2040, the number of countries facing extreme climate hazards could rise from 3 to 65.