The funding developing countries need to deal with the present impacts of climate change (adaptation finance) is 50% bigger than previously thought, with Unep estimating the current adaptation finance gap is now $194bn - $366bn per year.

'Even if the international community were to stop emitting all greenhouse gases today, climate disruption would take decades to dissipate," according to Inger Andersen, Executive Director for the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).

"So, I urge policymakers to take heed of the Adaptation Gap Report, step up finance and make COP28 the moment that the world committed fully to insulating low-income countries and disadvantaged groups from damaging climate impacts."

Andersen was referring to Unep's annual Adaptation Gap Report released this week, ahead of the UN climate summit (COP28) taking place in Dubai at the end of this month.

Read last year's report in Daily Maverick: Global climate adaptation failure puts world at risk, new UN report finds

While global heating is yet to surpass the "tipping point", there are already climate impacts locked into place, and climate adaptation is about dealing with those.

"Adaptation is necessary because climate change is already happening," Mandy Barnett of the SA National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) told Daily Maverick, "and people who didn't cause it are bearing the brunt of it."

Since 2014, Unep's yearly adaptation gap reports have assessed global progress on adaptation planning, financing and implementation, and this year the report...