Canada's international climate finance

Supporting ambitious climate action abroad

Climate change is a global challenge that requires global solutions. Developing countries, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable, are the hardest hit by climate change and face its impacts, including severe weather, drought and flooding. Transformational financial investments are needed to help communities around the world better address climate change and adapt to its harmful consequences. International climate finance funds activities to mitigate and adapt to climate change and plays a key role in reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building resilience to climate impacts.

Developed countries made a commitment to collectively mobilize US$100 billion each year in international climate finance to developing countries. These efforts recognize that many countries  have more limited capacity to prevent  cope with the consequences of climate change.

At the 2021 G7 Leaders’ Summit, Canada announced a doubling of its international climate finance commitment, to $5.3 billion to support developing countries to combat climate change, while striving to address biodiversity loss around the world. This commitment builds on the successes of Canada’s $2.65 billion commitment (2015-2021).

Important milestones

2010

• Canada announces its Fast-Start Financing commitment to provide $1.2 billion in climate finance (2010–2013) to over 50 developing countries to help them address the effects of climate change.

2015

• Canada announces its commitment to provide $2.65 billion in climate finance to developing countries from 2015-2021.

2021

• Having successfully delivered on its previous commitment, Canada commits to provide $5.3 billion in climate finance to developing countries from 2021-2026.
• Canada accepts an invitation from the United Kingdom as President of COP26 to co-lead a process with Germany to build trust that developed countries will live up to their commitments and meet the US$100 billion climate finance goal by 2025.
  • On October 25, 2021, Canada and Germany, in collaboration with the United Kingdom, release the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, which shows a positive trend that the US$100 billion goal would be within reach in 2022 and confidence that it would be met in 2023, based on analysis from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

2022

• On October 28, 2022, Canada and Germany release a Progress Report on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, providing further transparency on what developed countries have done to mobilize US$100 billion per year in climate finance, while also highlighting key actions that still need to be taken.

2023

• Canada and Germany continue their advocacy efforts and publish an open letter outlining a common path on the US$ 100 billion climate finance goal in 2023.

2024

• The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development released a report confirming that the USD100 billion goal was met, for the first time in 2022. Following this, Canada and Germany published an open letter reflecting upon meeting this milestone and re-affirming the collective commitment to meet this goal through to 2025.

Canada’s approach to international climate finance

Canada's $5.3 billion international climate finance commitment focuses on four main areas:

• clean energy transition and coal phase-out
• climate-smart agriculture and food systems
• nature-based solutions and biodiversity
• climate governance

This aims to help low and middle-income countries already affected by climate change to transition to sustainable, low-carbon, climate-resilient, nature-positive and inclusive development. Learn more about Canada's approach to international climate finance.

Impact of Canada's climate finance

Canada measures the impact of our climate finance support against the following indicators: amount of private finance mobilized through public sector investments; greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions resulting from our funding to international initiatives; and number of people in developing countries who benefited from Canada’s adaptation finance. Below are the most recent cumulative results generated through Canada’s climate finance.

Canada’s climate finance commitment and funding beyond the commitment for 2015-2022

Canada’s international climate finance to developing countries goes much further than its core public commitment. From 2015 to 2022, Canada has contributed over $8.7 billion in international climate finance to developing countries from a variety of sources.

Canada's climate finance by source

Canada’s doubling of its climate finance commitment will help to scale up our total climate finance, but we are making effort across the government to scale up action towards low-carbon, climate-resilient development through all Canadian sources of climate finance. Canada’s climate finance includes support from sub-national governments, private finance mobilized through public finance, core contributions to multilateral development banks, climate relevant financing by Export Development Canada (EDC) and Canada's Development Finance Institute (FinDev Canada), and other international assistance with a climate component. Learn more about Canada’s mobilizing partners for investments in climate action.

Additional resources

• International context
• Mobilizing partners
• Access to climate finance
• Glossary
• The Paris Agreement
• The Pan-Canadian Framework
• Global Affairs Canada’s project browser
• Canada’s Feminist International Assistance
• Action Area Policy – Environment and Climate Action
• Canada’s climate finance for developing countries
• Supporting environmental sustainability in developing countries
• Climate Finance Delivery Plan: Meeting the US$100 Billion Goal
• Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report