The normative foundations of international climate adaptation finance

Billions of dollars are annually transferred to poor nations to help them adapt to the effects of climate change. This Element examines how the discourses on adaptation finance of many developing country negotiators, environmental groups, development charities, academics, and international bureaucrats have renewed a specific vision of aid intended to respond to international injustices and to fuel a regular transfer of resources between rich and poor countries. By reviewing manifestations of this normative vision of aid in key contemporary debates on adaptation finance, the author shows how these discourses have contributed to the significant financial mobilization of developed countries towards adaptation in the Global South. But there remains a stark contrast between the many expectations associated with these discourses and today’s adaptation finance landscape.