In 2024—for the third consecutive year—wealthy nations collectively contributed more than $100 billion toward climate protection in poorer countries. However, the public share of this funding shrank by 2.6 percent, according to a report published by the OECD on Thursday. Figures for 2025—the year in which climate change skeptic Donald Trump began his second term as US President—are not scheduled to be released until next year.
According to the report, wealthier nations provided approximately $136.7 billion to the poorest countries in 2024 to invest in clean energy and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This figure follows $132.8 billion in 2023, while the amount stood at $115.9 billion in 2022. 2022 marked the first year in which the $100 billion target—established at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen—was met.
The total sum comprises bilateral and multilateral contributions—such as those from the World Bank—originating from either the public or private sectors. Public climate finance contracted by 2.6 percent in 2024, falling to $101.6 billion. This decline was offset by a 33 percent increase in private-sector contributions, which rose to $30.5 billion, according to the report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
In 2024, just over two-thirds of the financing consisted of loans. Recipient countries criticize this high proportion of loans, as they increase the debt burden. “The countries least responsible for the climate crisis have to take on debt in order to survive it,” said Mohamed Adow, Director of the Nairobi-based climate think tank Power Shift Africa. “That is a scandal,” he added.
The environmental organization WWF called upon the Federal Government to fulfill its pledge in the 2027 federal budget to provide six billion euros annually for international climate finance. To this end, cuts to the Development Ministry’s budget should be reversed. “It would be appropriate to increase public climate finance to at least twelve billion euros annually by 2030,” the organization emphasized. To achieve this, measures such as introducing levies on premium flights and private jets should be implemented.
Climate finance is a contentious issue at UN climate conferences. Developing countries frequently criticize the sluggish progress made by industrialized nations in honoring their commitments. At the UN climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan in 2024, wealthier nations agreed to provide 300 billion dollars annually between 2026 and 2035. However, in the view of many developing countries, this is insufficient.
AFP translated by Blackout News