NAIROBI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The ability of developing countries to cope with the devastating impacts of climate change is in jeopardy due to the shrinking of funds, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) said in a report launched in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on Wednesday.

The UNEP's 2025 Adaptation Gap Report: Running on Empty, which was launched ahead of the 30th UN climate change conference (COP30), said that the adaptation finance needs of developing countries are estimated at over 310 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2035.

"Climate impacts are accelerating. Yet adaptation financing is not keeping pace, leaving the world's most vulnerable exposed to rising seas, deadly storms and searing heat," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his message on the report.

According to Guterres, bridging the adaptation financing gap will be key to protecting lives, delivering climate justice and building a safer, more sustainable planet.

Despite their higher vulnerability to the climate crisis, developing countries only managed to secure 26 billion dollars in 2023 from international public adaptation finance flows, down from 28 billion dollars in 2022, the report said.

Citing the changing geopolitical landscape and shrinking fiscal space among both major and developing economies, the report estimated the adaptation finance gap at between 284 and 339 billion dollars annually.

UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said that climatic shocks, including wildfires, floods, droughts and heatwaves, have intensified, necessitating sustained financing toward adaptation measures.

"We need a global push to increase adaptation finance -- from both public and private sources -- without adding to the debt burden of vulnerable nations," Andersen said.

The upcoming COP30 is expected to amplify the call for scaling up public and private sector financing toward adaptation, ensuring nations meet their net-zero targets, the report said.

"A global collective effort, as called for by the Brazilian COP30 Presidency, is needed to bridge the finance gap and accelerate climate action, with both public and private finance having to step up," it added. ■