Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: Assessing Delivery of Finance Outcomes

The document evaluates the first decade of the Paris Agreement, arguing that climate finance delivery has been characterized by "incremental promises, contentious negotiations, evolving priorities and an erosion of trust amongst Parties." It highlights a significant investment deficit in Africa, where the region receives only 3% of global climate finance flows despite its high vulnerability. The brief critiques the delayed and contested achievement of the US$100 billion annual goal, the underfunding of adaptation and loss and damage, and the over-reliance on debt-creating loans over grants. It calls for a shift toward public-led, concessional finance and systemic reforms to the global financial architecture to ensure equity and transparency ahead of COP30.

• The US$100 billion annual climate finance commitment made at COP15 was not met by the 2020 deadline, only being achieved in 2022. The delivery is contested due to accounting methodologies and the use of loans over grants, leading the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) to avoid official recognition that the goal was met.
• Africa faces a severe climate investment deficit, receiving only US$44 billion of the US$277 billion needed annually. The region receives only 3% of global climate finance flows, and 51% of the finance it does receive is disbursed as loans, which exacerbates debt burdens.
• Adaptation finance remains critically underfunded. While the Glasgow Climate Pact urged a doubling of adaptation finance to US$40 billion by 2025, international public adaptation flows to developing countries actually declined in 2023 to US$26 billion. In Africa, adaptation finance flows (US$14.8 billion in 2022) are far below the US$70 billion required.
• The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) is operational, but current pledges of US$768 million represent less than 0.2% of the estimated US$580 billion needed by vulnerable countries by 2030.
• The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) agreed at COP29 tripled the annual finance goal to at least US$300 billion by 2035. However, the Baku to Bélem (B2B) Roadmap suggests a much higher need of US$1.3 trillion annually, and there are concerns about translating this figure into a concrete mechanism.
• Private finance mobilisation in Africa has been limited, accounting for only 18% of climate finance. Blended finance is criticized for underdelivering in low-income countries, with only US$0.37 of private finance mobilised for every US$1 of public investment in these regions.
• Country platforms like the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in South Africa have faced challenges, including limited financing (US$12.8 billion vs US$99 billion required) and a lack of additionality, with 65% of grant funding going to entities outside South Africa.

APA

Nkhonjera, M., & Chituta, K. (2025). Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: Assessing Delivery of Finance Outcomes. African Future Policies Hub. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/b2d05cc3-7b8c-4f0d-a62a-66af7434f28f/downloads/02fe6980-7494-4995-af78-eec871598977/FINAL%20v5%20-%20Ten%20Years%20of%20the%20Paris%20Agreement.pdf?ver=1780902965356

Chicago

Nkhonjera, Maria, and Kasonde Chituta. Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: Assessing Delivery of Finance Outcomes. African Future Policies Hub, 2025. https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/b2d05cc3-7b8c-4f0d-a62a-66af7434f28f/downloads/02fe6980-7494-4995-af78-eec871598977/FINAL%20v5%20-%20Ten%20Years%20of%20the%20Paris%20Agreement.pdf?ver=1780902965356.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nkhonjera |first1=Maria |last2=Chituta |first2=Kasonde |title=Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: Assessing Delivery of Finance Outcomes |publisher=African Future Policies Hub |date=November 2025 |url=https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/b2d05cc3-7b8c-4f0d-a62a-66af7434f28f/downloads/02fe6980-7494-4995-af78-eec871598977/FINAL%20v5%20-%20Ten%20Years%20of%20the%20Paris%20Agreement.pdf?ver=1780902965356 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nkhonjera2025ten, author = {Nkhonjera, Maria and Chituta, Kasonde}, title = {{Ten Years of the Paris Agreement: Assessing Delivery of Finance Outcomes}}, institution = {African Future Policies Hub}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/b2d05cc3-7b8c-4f0d-a62a-66af7434f28f/downloads/02fe6980-7494-4995-af78-eec871598977/FINAL%20v5%20-%20Ten%20Years%20of%20the%20Paris%20Agreement.pdf?ver=1780902965356}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }