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There is an ever-widening chasm between the support developing countries need to adapt to climate change, and the funding promised and delivered by wealthy nations. While UN climate meetings endlessly debate terms such as 'new and additional' or 'balanced allocation', even some basic commitments to adaptation funding are going unfulfilled. And as we approach the final year of the 'fast-start' phase for climate finance, there is no plan for the crucial 'scale-up' period of 2013–2019, when contributions must swell tenfold. At the Durban negotiations, countries should take three steps to ensure the developed world can meet its agreed responsibilities: establish funding sources based on international trade; define annual targets for the scale-up; and adopt a transparent, centralised accounting system.