Public asset damage rose to US$96.3 million, against total losses of US$236.3 million last year, a new study showed. Although more than half of victims had adopted proactive measures, only about 5 per cent had insurance coverage and 20 per cent made no prior preparations.

Ensuring funds reach countries most in need, quickly and equitably, is climate finance’s biggest challenge.

In a tense closing plenary, countries protested the lack of finance and new adaptation indicators, amid a failure to include fossil fuels in the final agreement. The hard-won inclusion of the just transition work programme was overshadowed by vague funding promises and the exclusion of critical minerals.

In the aftermath of typhoons Kalmaegi and Fung-wong, mismanaged climate funds and weak infrastructure leave communities exposed to disaster.