Angela Churie Kallhauge is executive vice president for impact at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5.” This warning from Prime Minister Andrew Holness to Jamaicans about oncoming Hurricane Melissa last week should be a wake-up call to the world. We are not prepared for the realities of our changing climate. The latest UN Adaptation Gap Report confirms this, showing how far we still must go to build resilience.

This year’s UN climate summit – COP30 in Brazil – offers a critical opportunity to take stock of adaptation progress and change course. Countries will discuss how to respond to rising and unavoidable climate risks, but negotiations only get us so far.

To turn pledges into protection, adaptation must become practical, profitable, and scalable. In short: we need to move the market. That means sending clear policy signals, setting enforceable standards, and deploying financial tools that build investor confidence, reward risk reduction, attract private capital, and drive demand for adaptation solutions. Physical climate risks are already costing families, businesses, and communities – both directly and indirectly. People are spending more dollar-for-dollar to weather-proof homes and buildings, while supply chain disruptions are driving up prices – with costs ultimately passed on to consumers.

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In the United States, half of Americans believe climate change is increasing the cost of home ownership. In India, extreme heat and droughts are causing farmers to lose income from crop failures and livestock losses. Bangkok, Thailand is sinking due to sea level rise, where flooding has cost billions of dollars and forced the Thai government to consider constructing massive seawalls or moving its capital city entirely.

Fortunately, the supply of adaptation technologies, products, and services is growing. We have fortified roofs that protect our homes, flexible flood-proof walls that defend hospitals from rising waters and storm surge, cooling infrastructure that shields dairy cattle from heat stress. But these solutions are not reaching the people who need them most. A lack of awareness, access, and affordability is preventing progress.

Lessons from the clean energy playbook

The clean energy transition offers a useful playbook for building a market for climate resilience. Thanks to smart market design, renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels in most cases, with over 90% of new renewable capacity costing less than new fossil fuel plants. Governments and businesses created predictable demand, reduced risk, and aligned incentives – making it possible for clean energy to scale and turn a profit.

We can apply the same approach to adaptation. Just as renewable energy tax credits and electric vehicle mandates boosted renewable energy technology innovation and investor confidence, adaptation needs incentives for climate-resilient infrastructure and procurement requirements that prioritize adaptation. Financial tools like tax credits, resilience bonds, and blended finance can lower upfront costs, while insurance-linked incentives can reward risk reduction.

Demand aggregation is another proven strategy. Utility-scale solar procurement and fleet EV purchases drove economies of scale. Corporations led to the voluntary procurement of over 40% of the total capacity of US solar and wind projects from 2014 to 2024.

Comment: Hurricane Melissa’s destruction shows need for climate resilience push

For adaptation, buyers’ alliances that support collective and forward purchase agreements for climate-resilient building materials and municipal resilience bonds for infrastructure projects can bring down costs, guarantee market size and send strong signals to suppliers and investors.

Standards and certifications build consumer trust. Energy Star and vehicle efficiency benchmarks helped consumers make informed purchases around new product lines. Adaptation needs climate resilience certifications for infrastructure and supply chains. These should be aligned with national and international frameworks to ensure credibility and consistency across markets.

Awareness drives adoption. Clean energy campaigns helped consumers understand the benefits and return on investment of purchasing clean energy products. Adaptation needs the same messaging.

A recent analysis from the World Resources Institute found that every $1 invested in adaptation solutions created more than $10 in benefits over ten years. We need to localize this insight – providing municipalities, households, and businesses with geographic- and industry-specific risk data and cost-benefit analyses that make resilience tangible and financially compelling.

Designing an adaptation market that works

Ultimately, we need a mindset shift. Adaptation is not charity. It is a strategic economic imperative. Of course, a key component of a market is its consumers. Communities are important end-users of adaptation technologies, products, and services – and they must be engaged early and often in designing and implementing them to ensure they fit local contexts and needs.

At COP30, there will be no shortage of headlines about worsening climate impacts and slow adaptation progress. That narrative might move negotiations, but it won’t move markets.

To build real resilience, we must shift our focus from what’s impossible to what’s already possible. We have solutions. Now we need to scale them and create incentives for the ones we still need. We must shift attention to the potential, not the impossible.

The post The missing piece in COP climate talks: Market signals for adaptation appeared first on Climate Home News.

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