Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 Methodology

The document outlines the operational framework for tracking global climate finance, defining mitigation and adaptation finance, and establishing principles to avoid double counting and carbon lock-in. It details the financial instruments captured, the classification of public and private actors, and the data sources used. Additionally, it describes the methodology for estimating annual investment needs across sectors and the framework for calculating the economic and social costs of climate inaction.

• The operational definition of climate finance is aligned with the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance, focusing on reducing emissions, enhancing greenhouse gas sinks, and increasing the resilience of human and ecological systems.
• To prevent double counting, the methodology excludes policy-induced revenue support mechanisms, such as feed-in tariffs, and private research and development costs, as these are typically capitalized into the investment amounts of new projects.
• The accounting scope excludes investments with a high risk of locking in future greenhouse gas emissions, specifically omitting financing for efficiency retrofits of coal-fired power plants.
• The methodology prioritizes financial commitments over disbursements because consistent disbursement data is often unavailable across actors, although some country-specific landscapes for Brazil, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Germany, India, Indonesia, Kenya, and South Africa do include disbursement data.
• Risk management instruments, such as guarantees and insurance, are excluded from the total climate finance figures due to a conservative approach, as actual disbursements from these instruments are contingent on uncertain future events.
• The 2023 methodology for electric vehicles includes public incentives for purchases, which is an exception to the general rule against subsidies, because these funds contribute directly to the consumption of low-carbon transport rather than flowing to the vendor.
• The 2023 Landscape updates average annual investment needs by 2030, showing significant increases compared to the 2022 report, most notably in AFOLU (from 245 to 1,304 USD bn) and Industry (from 326 to 934 USD bn).
• The cost of inaction framework divides losses into economic costs (direct GDP losses, asset damage, and currency flow disruptions) and social costs (health impacts, loss of biodiversity, conflict, and migration).

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2023). Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 Methodology. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GLCF-2023-Methodology.pdf

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 Methodology. 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GLCF-2023-Methodology.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 Methodology |date=November 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GLCF-2023-Methodology.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2023global, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2023 Methodology}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/GLCF-2023-Methodology.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }