COP21 Q&A: What Role Does Finance Play in the Paris Outcome?

This briefing from the World Resources Institute explains the critical role of finance in the COP21 negotiations, detailing how funding enables climate ambition and resilience. It outlines the key 'crunch issues' facing negotiators, including the identity of finance providers, the mobilization of domestic investment, the balance between mitigation and adaptation funding, and the necessity of transparent reporting to ensure accountability.

• Finance is essential for the Paris outcome because it allows countries to increase their climate action ambition, specifically by enabling bolder steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improving the resilience of societies and economies. The agreement is intended to signal support for the most vulnerable countries and prompt investors to align their portfolios with a zero-carbon future.
• Regarding the provision of finance, developed countries maintain an obligation to support developing countries and are expected to continue leading, despite some developing countries also contributing. Negotiators are focusing on maintaining the 2009 commitment to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 as a minimum, with the goal of significantly increasing support after 2020.
• To keep global warming below 2 degrees, the New Climate Economy report indicates that approximately $6 trillion per year in infrastructure investments must be shifted toward low-emissions and resilient options by 2030. The Paris deal should encourage this shift by urging countries to reduce support for high-emissions activities like coal power and to promote investments in renewable energy and climate-resilient infrastructure.
• There is a recognized need to balance funding between climate change mitigation and adaptation, as adaptation funding has historically lagged. Some countries have proposed a realistic adaptation finance target of $32 billion per year by 2020, alongside the need for a further target for 2025.
• Transparent reporting is required to ensure accountability for finance flowing to developing countries. This includes developed countries providing information on future flows and reporting on finance already provided, while developing countries may report on finance received to help hold developed countries accountable.

APA

World Resources Institute (2015). COP21 Q&A: What Role Does Finance Play in the Paris Outcome? https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-what-role-does-finance-play-paris-outcome

Chicago

World Resources Institute. COP21 Q&A: What Role Does Finance Play in the Paris Outcome? 2015. https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-what-role-does-finance-play-paris-outcome.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=COP21 Q&A: What Role Does Finance Play in the Paris Outcome? |date=9 December 2015 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-what-role-does-finance-play-paris-outcome |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2015cop21, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{COP21 Q\&A: What Role Does Finance Play in the Paris Outcome?}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/cop21-qa-what-role-does-finance-play-paris-outcome}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }