Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021

The Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021 reports that annual climate finance reached USD 632 billion in 2019/2020, though growth has slowed. The report highlights a massive investment gap, noting that an increase of at least 590% is needed to meet 2030 climate objectives. Mitigation remains the dominant focus, particularly in renewable energy and low-carbon transport, while adaptation finance continues to lag, relying almost entirely on public sources. Geographically, investments are heavily concentrated in East Asia & Pacific, Western Europe, and North America, with China accounting for an estimated 81% of investments in its region.

• Total annual climate finance reached USD 632 billion in 2019/2020, but the growth rate has slowed to 10% between 2017/2018 and 2019/2020, compared to over 24% in previous periods.
• Current climate finance levels are insufficient, with an estimated annual need of USD 4.5 to 5 trillion to achieve a sustainable, net zero emissions and resilient world.
• Adaptation finance increased by 53% to USD 46 billion in 2019/2020, yet it represents only 7% of total climate finance and is provided almost exclusively by the public sector.
• Public climate finance averaged USD 321 billion in 2019/2020, with Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) contributing the majority at 68% (USD 219 billion).
• Private climate investments rose to USD 310 billion in 2019/2020, with commercial financial institutions showing the most growth, increasing their share from 18% to 39% (USD 122 billion).
• Debt was the primary financial instrument, accounting for 61% (USD 384 billion) of total finance, with market-rate debt making up 53% (USD 337 billion).
• Renewable energy investments averaged USD 324 billion, with solar PV and onshore wind attracting over 91% of all mitigation investment.
• Low-carbon transport is the fastest-growing sector, increasing by 23% compared to 2017/2018, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and chargers accounting for 48% of this finance.
• Approximately 75% of tracked climate investments (USD 479 billion) were domestic flows, while international flows reached USD 153 billion.
• Climate finance is highly concentrated, with East Asia & Pacific accounting for nearly half (USD 292 billion) of global investments, and 81% of that region's investment concentrated in China.

APA

Buchner, B., Naran, B., Fernandes, P., Padmanabhi, R., Rosane, P., Solomon, M., Stout, S., Strinati, C., Tolentino, R., Wakaba, G., Zhu, Y., Meattle, C., & Guzmán, S. (2021). Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-report-Global-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-2021.pdf

Chicago

Buchner, Barbara, Baysa Naran, Pedro Fernandes, Rajashree Padmanabhi, Paul Rosane, Matthew Solomon, Sean Stout, et al. Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-report-Global-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{buchner2021global, author = {Buchner, Barbara and Naran, Baysa and Fernandes, Pedro and Padmanabhi, Rajashree and Rosane, Paul and Solomon, Matthew and Stout, Sean and Strinati, Costanza and Tolentino, Rowena and Wakaba, Githungo and Zhu, Yaxin and Meattle, Chavi and Guzmán, Sandra}, title = {{Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2021}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-report-Global-Landscape-of-Climate-Finance-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }