COVID-19 Recovery and Climate Finance

This briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the intersection of COVID-19 recovery and climate finance, arguing that the pandemic recovery period offers a critical window to 'build back better' through sustainable investment. It highlights the failure of developed nations to meet the $100 billion annual climate finance pledge and emphasizes the specific needs of African countries for increased adaptation funding and systemic reform of the global finance architecture.

• Developed countries have failed to meet the pre-2020 commitment to mobilize $100 billion annually in climate finance for developing nations in any year since the pledge was made.
• The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) is advocating for a post-2025 climate finance goal of at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2030, with a request for an even split between mitigation and adaptation and a significant portion provided as grants.
• Global pandemic recovery spending has largely failed to prioritize greening economies; of the more than $12.7 trillion committed globally, approximately three-quarters of G20 countries are spending funds in ways that negatively impact their climate commitments.
• Specific nations have used recovery plans to reorient their economies toward green infrastructure, transport, and energy, including Germany, France, Spain, and the UK. The Next Generation EU initiative specifically allocated 37% of its recovery funds to green initiatives.
• African countries face significant barriers to accessing climate finance, including complex application processes, a lack of climate data and modelling to build 'climate rationales' for projects, and a mismatch where funds are primarily directed toward mitigation despite commitments to balance adaptation.
• The document suggests using Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement as a mechanism to track and hold governments accountable for ensuring pandemic recovery funds are spent in alignment with climate goals.
• African countries bear a heavy financial burden for climate adaptation, spending up to 9% of their GDP on such actions, which underscores the need for a global financing mechanism.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). COVID-19 Recovery and Climate Finance. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-recovery-and-climate-finance/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. COVID-19 Recovery and Climate Finance. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-recovery-and-climate-finance/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=COVID-19 Recovery and Climate Finance |date=1 December 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-recovery-and-climate-finance/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021covid19, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{COVID-19 Recovery and Climate Finance}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/covid-recovery-and-climate-finance/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }