Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative provides a comprehensive analysis of global climate finance flowing into agrifood systems during 2019/20. It highlights a significant gap between current financial flows and the investment needed for climate transition, noting that agrifood systems receive a very small fraction of total global climate finance despite their high emissions and vulnerability.

• Climate finance for agrifood systems is strikingly low compared to total global climate finance and estimated needs. In 2019/20, these systems received an annual average of USD 28.5 billion, which is only 4.3% of total global project-level climate finance. To meet the most conservative estimated needs for the climate transition, which are in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually, current finance levels must increase at least sevenfold.
• There is a significant disparity between the financial needs of different agrifood sectors and the actual funding received. Agriculture and forestry received the largest shares of project-level finance at USD 11.9 billion and USD 11.7 billion respectively, yet both fall short of their estimated annual needs (USD 30-218 billion for agriculture and USD 55-753 billion for forestry). Sectors critical for mitigation, such as low-carbon diets and food loss/waste, received less than 1% of tracked project-level investment (USD 0.1 billion), far below the estimated annual need of USD 48-50 billion. Fisheries and aquaculture received USD 0.1 billion at both the project and VC levels against an annual need of USD 11 billion.
• Climate finance is unevenly distributed geographically and by objective. Project-level investments were highest in the East Asia and Pacific region (USD 10.4 billion), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (USD 4.4 billion) and the US and Canada (USD 2.9 billion). However, South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean are underserved, receiving only 5% and 8% of finance respectively despite contributing 10% and 16% of global GHG emissions from agrifood systems. Regarding objectives, project-level mitigation finance was USD 14.4 billion (2% of total global project-level climate finance) and adaptation finance was USD 7.3 billion (1.11% of total global project-level climate finance).
• Public sources dominate project-level climate finance for agrifood systems, accounting for 85% (USD 24.2 billion) in 2019/20, with development finance institutions as the primary contributors. Private sources provided only 12% (USD 3.3 billion). In terms of instruments, debt was the most common (44%), followed by grants (38%) and equity (4%). Venture capital (VC) investments in agrifood tech totaled USD 4.8 billion annually, with nearly 75% going to the US and Canada and 15% to Western Europe.
• There is substantial existing liquidity that could be repurposed to close the climate finance gap. Global public subsidies for fisheries and agriculture are estimated at USD 670 billion per year, much of which supports harmful practices. Additionally, approximately USD 630 billion of private capital is available annually for investment in food systems.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2023). Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-agrifood-systems/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems. 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-agrifood-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems |date=31 July 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-agrifood-systems/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2023landscape, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-agrifood-systems/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }