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As climate talks in Germany wrap up, both poor and rich nations increasingly recognize that fixing the climate change adaptation funding gap, one of the biggest holes in the Paris Agreement, will be a major challenge at the next United Nations conference in Morocco. 

At least ten million poor people face hunger this year and next due to droughts and erratic rains, influenced by climate change and the likely development of a ‘super El Niño’.

There is growing scientific analysis suggesting that the impacts of current and recent droughts in East Africa are likely to have been aggravated by climate change. Without global efforts to reduce emissions and to help the world’s poorest people cope with the effects of climate change, this crisis will continue to repeat itself.

With 2016 on track to be the hottest year ever and a super-charged El Niño putting over 60 million lives at the mercy of unpredictable climate shocks, it’s more urgent than ever to help communities adapt to climate change, said Oxfam at the start of the United Nation’s climate conference in Bonn, Germany.

Millions of poor people in Southern Africa, Asia and Central America face hunger and poverty this year and next because of droughts and erratic rains as global temperatures reach new records, and because of the onset of a powerful El Niño.

Time is running out for ministers meeting in Paris to boost adaptation funding levels by 2020 and agree to set new improved finance targets for both adaptation and emissions reductions from when the Paris deal comes into force in 2020, Oxfam said today.

El Niño is a crisis of global proportions, seriously affecting 60 million people around the world, yet it is not getting international attention and there remains a huge funding gap of nearly $1.8bn. The appointment of Mary Robinson and Macharia Kamau as Special Envoys for El Niño by the UN is an encouraging step.

Ethiopia is facing a massive drought and food insecurity crisis. The impact of failed rains and droughts have been worsened by the 2015 El Niño. Urgent humanitarian action and long-term investment is needed so that communities can become more resilient and reduce their vulnerability to weather events in the future.

Long-term approaches to reduce food insecurity must be found, and climate change, which is super-charging the effects of El Niño, must be tackled at the UN climate conference in Paris and beyond.

Farmer seed systems and community seed banks provide an important safety net for cash-strapped, vulnerable people. They also help small-scale farmers manage climate risk. Supporting them is an adaptation opportunity that is currently being missed.