This interview offers multiple vantage points on the challenges and barriers to climate adaptation faced by cities in the Global South. Experts from the Caribbean and the Pacific emphasize the need for a nuanced understanding of urban climate adaptation finance, drawing on examples from the Philippines and St. Kitts and Nevis to illustrate how physical and financial risks are deeply cojoined in climate-vulnerable cities. The discussion highlights the increasing reliance on blended finance and de-risking strategies to attract private capital, while questioning the effectiveness of these approaches in addressing the unique needs of diverse urban contexts. The discussion underscores the importance of recognizing historical and structural factors, such as colonial legacies, extant modalities of climate finance disbursement, and fiscal federalism, that shape the climate adaptation needs. The interview identifies key reform priorities to the international financial architecture, particularly concerning institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to alleviate the burdens of debt-bearing climate finance that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities. The conversation indicates that without addressing systemic macroeconomic issues, cities will continue to face escalating risks from climate change, ultimately jeopardizing their resilience and sustainability.

Carlos Nobre, who has fought for decades to save the rainforest, says up to 70% of it could be lost if a tipping point is reached