Landscape of Climate Finance for Agrifood Systems

The report finds that climate finance for agrifood systems is strikingly low, representing only 4.3% of total global project-level climate finance in 2019/20, with an annual average of USD 28.5 billion. This is far below the estimated needs for climate transition, which are in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. While agriculture and forestry receive the bulk of project-level funding, essential mitigation areas like food loss/waste and low-carbon diets receive less than 1% of such investments. Geographically, East Asia and the Pacific are the largest recipients of project-level finance, while the US and Canada dominate venture capital investments. The report suggests that repurposing existing public subsidies for agriculture and fisheries (USD 670 billion per year) and tapping into available private capital (USD 630 billion per year) could bridge the funding gap.

• In 2019/20, agrifood systems received only 4.3% of total global project-level climate finance, averaging USD 28.5 billion annually. This amount must increase at least sevenfold to meet conservative estimated needs for the climate transition, which are in the order of hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
• There is significant existing liquidity that could be repurposed for climate interventions: global public subsidies for agriculture and fisheries are estimated at USD 670 billion per year, and an estimated USD 630 billion of private capital is available annually for food systems investment.
• Project-level climate finance is concentrated in agriculture (USD 11.9 billion/year) and forestry (USD 11.7 billion/year), while critical mitigation areas such as food loss/waste and low-carbon diets receive less than 1% of tracked project-level investment (USD 0.1 billion).
• Geographic distribution of finance is mismatched with emissions and vulnerability. East Asia and the Pacific received the most project-level finance (USD 10.4 billion), while South Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean are underserved relative to their GHG emissions. Venture capital is heavily concentrated in the US and Canada, which receive nearly 75% of the USD 4.8 billion total.
• Public sources provided 85% (USD 24.2 billion) of total project-level climate finance for agrifood systems in 2019/20, with development finance institutions as the primary contributors. Private sources accounted for only 12% (USD 3.3 billion).

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} }