$1 invested on adaptation earns $4: Returns on Resilience Report

A new report released by a consortium of 20 leading adaptation organizations led by Systemiq at the 2025 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF has revealed that targeted investments in climate and nature resilience could create over 280 million new jobs in emerging and developing economies by 2035, while also boosting GDP and opening up a $1.3 trillion annual market by 2030.

Titled “Returns on Resilience”, the report offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of the economic and financial benefits of adaptation investments. Developed with inputs from over 120 organizations and 70 major publications, including the World Resources Institute and the London School of Economics, the study shows that every dollar invested in resilience generates four times more benefits, with an average annual return of 25%.

The report highlights that climate-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and extreme heat already displace over 20 million people annually, leaving least-developed countries up to 10% poorer than they would have been without such impacts. Without urgent action, the global economy could face 18–23% GDP losses by 2050, while the world’s largest corporations risk $1.2 trillion in climate-related losses.

Despite these risks, the report finds that global finance continues to flow in the wrong direction—for every $1 spent on resilient infrastructure, $87 goes to infrastructure lacking climate safeguards, such as flood-prone buildings or unprotected ports.

The study also proposes a roadmap for action ahead of COP30, identifying 15 proven, scalable resilience investments across six key sectors—food, water, health, infrastructure, business, and ecosystems. These include climate-smart agriculture, mangrove restoration, and early-warning systems.

Echoing this, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized that investing in adaptation is not just about protecting lives but also “an urgent economic imperative to secure growth, stability, and opportunity for all.”

Dr. Pep Bardouille, Climate Resilience Advisor to the Prime Minister of Barbados, called resilience “the bedrock of prosperity,” urging COP30 to “rewrite the rules and recognize the true returns on resilience.”