Indigenous Peoples and local communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts and urgently need resources with which to plan for and implement adaptation measures. Yet only a small fraction of adaptation funds actually reach them, and worse still, they rarely have much authority when it comes to adaptation decision-making processes. By one estimate, less than 10% of international climate finance was directed to the local level (where most implementation of adaptation actions must take place) between 2006 and 2016, and only 7% of climate finance overall was transparent enough to be tracked and included in this analysis. Improving direct access to finance provides Indigenous Peoples and local communities with decision-making power and authority over how adaptation funds are spent, increasing the odds that they will benefit and that adaptation actions will be more equitable and effective.  
How much climate adaptation finance actually reaches local communities, then, remains a crucial and predominantly unanswered question, as it is largely not tracked. However, it is an important data gap to highlight, given the increasing recognition of the importance to ensure climate finance meets the needs of those most at risk. 

Indigenous Peoples and local communities are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts and urgently need resources with which to plan for and implement adaptation measures. Yet only a small fraction of adaptation funds actually reach them, and worse still, they rarely have much authority when it comes to adaptation decision-making processes. By one estimate, less than 10% of international climate finance was directed to the local level (where most implementation of adaptation actions must take place) between 2006 and 2016, and only 7% of climate finance overall was transparent enough to be tracked and included in this analysis. Improving direct access to finance provides Indigenous Peoples and local communities with decision-making power and authority over how adaptation funds are spent, increasing the odds that they will benefit and that adaptation actions will be more equitable and effective.  
How much climate adaptation finance actually reaches local communities, then, remains a crucial and predominantly unanswered question, as it is largely not tracked. However, it is an important data gap to highlight, given the increasing recognition of the importance to ensure climate finance meets the needs of those most at risk.