As climate change impacts increase annually, the connection between climate change and economic growth is gaining greater recognition. However, more detailed country and state-specific analysis is urgently needed to fully understand the wide-ranging impacts of climate change on economic growth and the costs of creating supportive policy environments, implementing concrete measures, and building long-term institutional and human capacities. While much of the current climate adaptation finance is directed towards physical adaptation measures, the costs of implementing soft measures like capacity building and vulnerability studies are not covered by external funding or domestic public budgets.
The study aims to examine mechanisms for strengthening adaptation finance in India, with a focus on central and state-level strategies in line with the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and other ongoing Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) initiatives. As a precursor to the implementation roadmap for financing the NAP, it seeks to generate actionable evidence to enhance public finance mobilisation, improve intergovernmental coordination, and systematically identify and close adaptation financing gaps for a select state. The research objectives include – (1) assessing current adaptation finance allocations and fiscal gaps; (2) mapping climate-vulnerable geographies and analysing scalable implementation practices for improved on-ground outcomes; (3) Recommending innovative public financing approaches to scale resilient investments; and (4) Developing strategies and policy recommendations to strengthen multi-level governance by enhancing coordination between MoEFCC, states, and local institutions to align adaptation finance with State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC) priorities.
