Inter-American Development Bank Group Support to Climate Adaptation 2016-2022
Maria Fernanda Rodrigo presented an Office of Evaluation and Oversight assessment of IDB Group support for climate adaptation from 2016 to 2022, with Emil Guillermo Salim Miyar participating in the session as well.
10 November 2025 | 11:30 GMT-3 to 12:00 GMT-3 | Belém, Brazil
The evaluation examined the relevance and effectiveness of adaptation support in Latin America and the Caribbean. It distinguished anticipatory measures, adaptive investments, and absorptive responses. The mixed-method design combined document review, portfolio analysis, interviews, and field visits in six countries. The portfolio contained USD 5.3 billion in approved adaptation interventions during the evaluation period. Adaptation finance was concentrated in environment and disaster risk, water and sanitation, housing and urban development, transport, and agriculture. Health and social-protection operations represented only a small share despite their adaptation potential. Mapping portfolio allocations against country vulnerability showed weak alignment in several highly vulnerable Central American and Caribbean countries. Only about half of the reviewed interventions aligned with identified local climate vulnerabilities. Adaptive and absorptive interventions produced the most positive evidence, whereas anticipatory measures often lacked follow-up. The evaluation also found a recurring gap between climate diagnostics, country strategies, and operational implementation. Policy-based loans performed better when combined with technical cooperation, investment lending, and local capacity development. Bolivia illustrated a cross-sectoral approach linking reforms, investments, and capacity building around water scarcity. Private-sector adaptation activity was too limited to support broad conclusions. Rodrigo emphasized that demand-driven institutions must help governments understand the costs of failing to adapt. The evaluation therefore recommended stronger links between diagnostics and project design, more suitable monitoring frameworks, and greater demand-side capacity. These findings support climate action by directing scarce adaptation finance toward vulnerable places, neglected sectors, and intervention combinations suited to local conditions.