Resilience to natural disasters and climate change will continue to advance globally in 2026, though with significant local differences, according to a recent report.

Highly exposed developed and upper-middle-income emerging markets ( EMs ) – particularly in Asia and the Middle East – will continue to improve their climate resilience, finds the 2026 Outlook for ESG Country Key Themes report by BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

Meanwhile, in several major economies, a combination of political and economic headwinds will detract from climate resilience, the report notes, particularly in the US. In the UK and the EU, tightening physical climate risk regulations will help offset the negative impact of these headwinds on climate resilience.

In contrast to adaptation finance, nature-related finance, the report points out, will continue to exceed targets in 2026 and beyond, though technical and political obstacles will limit the impact of nature conservation initiatives.

Disruptions related to social and governance problems will likely increase in 2026, the report shares, while deregulation related to sustainability also implies that a build-up of long-term environmental, social and governance ( ESG ) risks will continue in many markets.

The report emphasizes four key themes:

• Climate resilience will improve unevenly – Resilience to natural disasters and climate change will keep advancing in 2026, but unevenly. Highly exposed developed and upper-middle-income EMs will improve their resilience, while some developing markets will see their ability to deal with physical climate risks deteriorate.
• Gaps in adaptation and resilience finance will widen – Adaptation and resilience finance will continue to favour middle-income markets with clear policy frameworks and strong growth ( especially Asia ). Cuts to development aid, dominance of commercial loans and limited implementation capacity in least-developed countries will widen inequality gaps between and within countries.
• Nature protections at risk of stagnation despite finance momentum – Nature-related finance is gaining momentum but imperfect monitoring, reporting and verification combined with policy priorities that favour growth will limit impact.
• Social and governance pressures will rise in many EMs – Social and governance-related disruptions will persist or rise in 2026 amid high living costs, poor working conditions and limited job opportunities. Protests, labour unrest and scandals will disrupt operations, shift policy and, sometimes, trigger instability.

“We expect that developments related to adaptation and resilience finance,” the report states, “will continue to favour middle-income countries with relatively clear policy frameworks and strong growth prospects, particularly in Asia.”