Climate finance is the elephant in the room at COP26

8 Nov 2021 12:11 PM

EXPERT COMMENT

The pledge to mobilize $100bn a year in climate finance remains a central pillar of negotiations, but developed nations are short on both quantity and quality.

International climate finance is key to managing overall climate risk and many developing countries’ climate plans are conditional on getting the necessary financial support, making it unsurprising that the ongoing failure to achieve $100bn a year in climate finance saw the 46 least developed countries express disappointment at COP26, while China’s G20 statement urged developed countries to ‘earnestly fulfil’ commitments.

New OECD projections suggest climate finance will reach $100bn in 2023 but, as so often with climate finance, details are opaque. Country-by-country figures are not set out and nor is it clear which international organizations will increase finance so, even alongside country pledges, it provides only limited reassurance to developing countries.

Click here to continue reading the full version of this Expert Comment on the Chatham House website.