Open letter - An update on the delivery of the USD 100 billion climate finance goal

In 2009, developed countries committed to a goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion in climate finance a year by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation. In 2015, alongside the adoption of the Paris Agreement, this goal was extended through to 2025.

As discussions on climate finance unfold in the lead up to COP29, Canada and Germany continue to work together on climate finance in this critical year. This builds on the longstanding leadership to increase transparency and drive progress on climate finance, notably through the publication of the Climate Finance Delivery Plan in 2021 and its Progress Report in 2022.

On May 29th, 2024, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Jennifer Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action issued the following statement:

In this critical decade, unprecedented action is required to tackle the climate crisis and chart the course to a climate-resilient, low-carbon future. Delivering on the USD100 billion goal has been a key step in supporting developing countries with their efforts.

In advance of COP 28, Canada and Germany, on behalf of contributors to the USD 100 billion goal, shared a positive update reflecting confidence expressed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that the goal was likely to have been met in 2022. Earlier today, the OECD confirmed that, in 2022, collectively, USD 115.9 billion was provided and mobilized from bilateral and multilateral channels, fully delivering for the first time on the USD100 billion goal. This amount exceeds the range projected for 2022 by the OECD in forward-looking scenarios published in 2021. In fact, it reaches the volume initially projected for 2025.

This increase reflects a collective push for bold action in response to the Climate Finance Delivery Plan, where we committed to accelerate action to fully deliver on the goal. In 2021, many contributors announced increases to their respective climate finance pledges and this has brought us over the USD100 billion threshold.

The figures released by the OECD also show improvement in two key areas where we continue to deploy concerted efforts: adaptation finance and private finance mobilized. Adaptation finance levels reached USD 32.4 billion in 2022, up from USD 24.6 billion in 2021. At COP26, the Glasgow Climate Pact recognized the importance of adaptation finance and urged developed country Parties to at least double their collective provision of adaptation finance from 2019 levels by 2025. The figures released today show progress towards this doubling. At the halfway point to 2025, those developed countries that have reported on climate finance in the context of the USD 100 billion goal are on track to doubling their collective provision of adaptation finance from the 2019 baseline. Private finance mobilized also saw a large increase, from USD 14.4 billion in 2021 to USD 21.9 billion in 2022, after plateauing for several years.

In these two key areas, we are committed to further progress, notably by working to implement recommendations published last year by the OECD in two reports “Scaling Up Adaptation Finance in Developing Countries” and “Scaling Up the Mobilisation of Private Finance for Climate Action in Developing Countries.”

Meeting the USD100 billion goal for the first time is a significant step forward. The data in the OECD report is encouraging and reminds us of the importance of continuing our collective efforts to mobilize climate finance to support developing countries. As such, we collectively re-affirm our commitment to the goal of mobilizing jointly USD 100 billion per year to support ambitious climate action in developing countries through to 2025.   

Canada and Germany, along with the broader contributor community, recognize the importance of continuing to report on climate finance delivered in a transparent and comprehensive manner. This should be done without compromising the quality and accuracy of the data and methodologies underpinning climate finance tracking, as robust figures provide the basis for accountability. That is why we also commit to continue reporting transparently on our climate finance on the USD100 billion goal in the coming years, working with the OECD to support the publication of reports covering climate finance mobilized through to 2025.

As we continue to scale up climate finance, we recognize the value of reflecting on lessons learned across 15 years of the USD100 billion goal. Now more than ever, in light of overlapping crises and evolving needs, the effectiveness of climate finance needs to be maximized, together with the impact of each dollar delivered. This includes working to enhance access to finance at the speed and scale required and in alignment with countries’ national priorities, as emphasized in last year’s Global Stocktake, as well as the mobilization of private finance. We will continue collaborating with other contributors, developing country partners, and actors across the climate finance landscape to better understand how to tackle lasting barriers to funding and allocate finance where it is most needed.

Finally, we need to look beyond the USD100 billion goal and toward the future of climate finance under the Paris Agreement. The new collective quantified goal (NCQG) provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the international climate finance landscape and reinvigorate the way we do climate finance.

The scale of needs demands a goal that is fit-for-purpose and leverages a wide variety of sources, instruments, and channels of funding, encompassing public, private, domestic, and international components. We must engage all relevant actors. This means drawing on a wide base of contributors for international support that reflects modern economic realities. Encompassing all Parties in a position to contribute will be key. Beyond this, we must focus on enabling environments to unlock investments and ensure finance is accessible and directed towards the implementation of plans that will shift the global economy and energy systems towards a green and nature-positive future, whilst continuing to advance on a pathway to climate resilient development. This is the deep transformation required to rise to the challenge of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

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