Returns on Resilience: Investing in Adaptation to Drive Prosperity, Growth, and Competitiveness

Climate and Nature Adaptation: A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity That Could Create 280 Million Jobs

A major new global report, "Returns on Resilience: Investing in Adaptation to Drive Prosperity, Growth and Competitiveness," has found that investing in climate and nature resilience could generate over 280 million new jobs across emerging markets and developing economies by 2035. Released ahead of COP30 at the World Bank Annual Meetings, the report—produced by Systemiq in collaboration with over 20 partners and supported by the Gates Foundation—underscores that climate adaptation is not just a moral necessity but a powerful engine for sustainable economic growth, potentially unlocking a trillion-dollar market opportunity.

The Growing Challenge of Climate Instability

The financial and human costs of climate change are already significant. Annually, 20 million people are displaced by extreme weather events like floods, droughts, and extreme heat. The least developed countries are now 10% poorer than they would have been without climate change, and over the past two decades, extreme weather has erased $525 billion in growth across the most vulnerable emerging and developing economies. Without immediate action, global GDP could decline by as much as 23% by 2050.

Despite this mounting evidence, capital flow remains dangerously misaligned. For every $1 spent on resilient infrastructure, a disproportionate $87 still goes toward assets that disregard climate and nature risks, leaving communities, businesses, and governments acutely exposed.

Resilience Pays Back: The Economic Opportunity

The Returns on Resilience report provides compelling evidence that adaptation investments are highly profitable, delivering an average annual return rate of 25% and yielding four times more benefits than costs. Beyond simply avoiding losses, building resilience actively stimulates growth:

• Job Creation: Scaling interventions could create more than 280 million jobs by 2035.

• Market Growth: The annual adaptation and resilience market could reach up to $1.3 trillion by 2030.

• GDP Boost: Adaptation efforts could increase GDP by up to 15% by 2050 in some vulnerable economies, simultaneously strengthening fiscal stability and reducing debt risk.

COP30 as a Global Turning Point

With Brazil's COP30 Presidency prioritizing adaptation and resilience on the international agenda, the upcoming summit represents a crucial moment to pivot from reactive disaster response to proactive resilience building. The report issues a clear Call to Action, presenting actionable pathways and robust data that empower governments, businesses, and investors to channel capital toward solutions that secure both planetary stability and shared prosperity.

Adaptation Investment and DT Master Carbon

The Returns on Resilience report makes a compelling case: climate adaptation can unlock massive job creation and economic momentum. To turn that promise into reality, stakeholders need rigorous frameworks to measure and manage impact. That’s where DT Master Carbon becomes essential. Our platform pairs high-fidelity carbon accounting with a pragmatic adaptation-design workspace, delivering precise, auditable data on carbon flows, reductions, adaptation and financial outcomes. With this evidence base, the market can responsibly steer a projected $1.3 trillion opportunity and help realize up to 280 million jobs by 2035. In short, we ensure adaptation investments are not only economically sound, but also accelerate global decarbonization—converting resilience into prosperity and planetary stability ahead of COP30.

Sources: https://www.systemiq.earth/the-returns-on-resilience/