Global Climate Finance: An Updated View 2018

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides updated estimates of global climate finance flows for 2015 and 2016, incorporating new data on electric vehicle sales and national development finance institutions. It analyzes the distribution of these flows by actor, sector, and region, while discussing the challenges of tracking adaptation and energy efficiency investments and the operationalization of Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement.

• Revised estimates for global climate finance flows are USD 472 billion for 2015 and USD 455 billion for 2016, resulting in an annual average of USD 463 billion for the period. This average is 27% higher than the 2013/2014 period, partly due to the integration of electric vehicle sales and new data from national development finance institutions.
• Private finance actors, including commercial banks, corporations, and project developers, provide the majority of climate finance, accounting for 54% of flows annually between 2015 and 2016.
• Renewable energy investment decreased by 16% from 2015 to 2016, driven by a reduction in the number of projects financed and policy changes at the end of 2015 in the UK, Japan, Germany, and China.
• Investment in sustainable transport now represents 20% of climate finance flows. This growth is supported by electric vehicle (EV) investments, which have seen a compound annual growth rate of 54% since 2012; in 2017, total EV investment reached USD 43 billion.
• Adaptation finance is estimated at USD 22 billion per year. Tracking this finance is difficult due to reporting variations and data gaps, making it hard to determine if these flows have increased or decreased over time.
• The majority of climate finance (81%) is spent domestically. Developing countries are the primary destination for climate investment, receiving 58% of total finance (USD 270 billion), with the East Asia and Pacific region (non-OECD) receiving 39% of flows during 2015/2016.
• Preliminary estimates for 2017 suggest global climate finance flows rose to between USD 510 billion and USD 530 billion, a 12-16% increase from 2016. However, these figures remain small compared to the USD 1.6-3.8 trillion energy system investment required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

APA

Oliver, P., Clark, A., & Meattle, C. (2018). Global Climate Finance: An Updated View 2018. Climate Policy Initiative. https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Global-Climate-Finance-An-Updated-View-2018.pdf

Chicago

Oliver, Padraig, Alex Clark, and Chavi Meattle. Global Climate Finance: An Updated View 2018. Climate Policy Initiative, 2018. https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Global-Climate-Finance-An-Updated-View-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Oliver |first1=Padraig |last2=Clark |first2=Alex |last3=Meattle |first3=Chavi |title=Global Climate Finance: An Updated View 2018 |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=November 2018 |url=https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Global-Climate-Finance-An-Updated-View-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{oliver2018global, author = {Oliver, Padraig and Clark, Alex and Meattle, Chavi}, title = {{Global Climate Finance: An Updated View 2018}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Global-Climate-Finance-An-Updated-View-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }