Climate adaptation investment planning: insights from applications in developing countries

There is a growing adaptation finance gap in developing countries and national adaptation plans (NAPs) are not delivering finance at scale. In response, climate adaptation investment planning (CAIP) is being proposed. This is part of the NAP process and aims to convert identified adaptation priorities into investment-ready pipelines, then mobilize finance from multiple sources. This viewpoint shares experiences of designing and implementing CAIP in three Asian countries (Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal). We begin with the methodological steps and explain how these augment NAP processes. This involves greater attention to the development planning and financing landscape, the grouping of adaptation options into packages, more focus on adaptation benefits, economic and financial returns, and opportunities for revenue generation, as well as finance matchmaking to map potential sources. We then provide key application insights. This includes the central role of finance and line ministries, the public nature of NAPs and challenges of identifying private sector opportunities, and the need for enabling activities and reforms to unlock finance. Our overall finding is that CAIP can help advance NAP processes and mobilize finance, particularly if there is strong national ownership and development partner support, but implementation can be time-consuming, resource intensive, and technically challenging.