Nordic Climate Finance Summit

Session Overview

Adaptation finance is in its infancy, but climate mitigation has already provided a playbook for scaling investment. This session explores how we can apply the strategies, structures, and lessons from mitigation finance—such as how markets were built, impact was measured, and investor confidence was earned—to unlock capital for adaptation. We’ll examine what works, what doesn’t translate, and what entirely new approaches are needed to make adaptation investable at scale.

Key Discussion Points:

• Translating Financial Innovation: What proven tools from mitigation finance—blended finance, risk-sharing structures, or standardized reporting—can help unlock adaptation capital?
• Defining Impact for Adaptation: In mitigation, success is measured by financial returns and tons of CO₂ abated. What will define success in adaptation—and how can investors confidently underwrite it?
• Understanding the Premium: What does the history of the green premium in mitigation teach us about the timing, size, and shape of a potential adaptation premium?
• Building Market Confidence: How do we articulate clear, credible, and scalable business models in adaptation that can attract institutional and commercial capital?

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Takeaways

• Practical lessons from mitigation finance that can accelerate adaptation investment
• Emerging frameworks for measuring impact and performance in adaptation
• Market signals to watch as adaptation financing evolves from niche to mainstream

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