Putting our money where our mouth is

Why we need public climate finance

At COP29, the focus is on ensuring that climate finance is distributed equitably, with a particular emphasis on supporting the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This report highlights the insufficient flow of private climate finance to low-income countries and stresses the need for public finance, particularly in the form of grants, to meet climate adaptation and loss and damage needs.

Key findings

• Only a small fraction of private climate finance is reaching the countries that need it most, with less than 3% going to low-income nations in 2022.
• Less than 50 cents of every $100 in climate finance is international private finance directed towards adaptation, leaving vulnerable countries without the resources they need to cope with the changing climate.
• Wealthy, historically polluting countries must provide sufficient public finance, through grants, to support those facing the greatest climate impacts.

As COP29 begins, negotiators prepare to discuss the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), the report calls for a shift towards prioritising public finance. This approach, backed by international cooperation and progressive domestic taxes, is essential to ensuring that the financial resources needed for climate justice reach the communities who need them the most.