In 2014 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) pub¬lished its first global Adaptation Gap Report (AGR 2014) (UNEP, 2014), which put forward a preliminary framework for assessing adaptation gaps along with an initial assessment in three selected areas: finance, technology and knowledge. Further to the positive reception of this report, several countries requested UNEP to pro¬duce follow up reports focusing on specific adaptation gaps. In response to these requests, UNEP has commissioned a new report with a special focus on finance gaps and options to bridge them. The report will be published in the spring of 2016. This update is intended as an input to discussions at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It brings together key findings on adaptation costs and finance from AGR 2014 and preliminary findings from the 2016 assessment. Furthermore, it draws on insights concerning adaptation costs and related finance needs, as stated in the adaptation components in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – the post-2020 climate actions that countries intend to undertake follow¬ing a new global agreement on climate change.