Expanding the contributor base: a solution for all climate finance woes?

This briefing by Zero Carbon Analytics examines the proposal to expand the contributor base for climate finance to include emerging economies. It argues that while some emerging countries already contribute voluntarily, mandating their contributions at the current rate of developed countries would only provide an additional USD 51.19 billion, which is approximately 5.12% of the estimated USD 1 trillion annual need for developing countries. The document emphasizes that developed countries must maintain primary responsibility and calls for clearer definitions of 'developed countries' and 'climate finance' during the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) negotiations at COP29.

• Developing countries require significantly more funding than previous goals provided, with estimates suggesting a need for at least USD 1 trillion per year to address climate change. The UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance estimates total costed needs for 153 developing country Parties between USD 5.8 trillion and USD 5.9 trillion, though this is likely an underestimation.
• The goal of providing USD 100 billion per year by 2020 was only met in 2022, with USD 115.9 billion mobilised. However, this achievement is contested by organizations like Care International and Oxfam, who argue that the figure is overstated due to double counting with official development assistance (ODA) and the inclusion of loans.
• Current climate finance is heavily skewed toward debt and equity, with nearly 95% of finance taking these forms. Approximately 80% of loans are issued at market rates, which increases the debt burden for already over-indebted developing nations. Adaptation is severely underfunded, receiving only USD 56 billion (8%) of the USD 665 billion in global climate finance recorded by the Climate Policy Initiative in 2020.
• Analysis of 'fair share' contributions indicates that 11 out of 23 developed countries are not providing their fair share based on GNI, population, and cumulative emissions. The United States is noted as providing only 32% of its fair share.
• Expanding the contributor base to include emerging economies would not significantly close the financing gap. If candidate countries contributed at the same rate as developed countries did in 2022 (0.21% of GNI), it would raise an additional USD 51.19 billion, representing only 5.12% of the USD 1 trillion minimum annual need.
• The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) for COP29 in November 2024 presents an opportunity to resolve systemic issues, including the lack of a specific delineation of which countries are 'developed' and what constitutes 'climate finance'.

APA

Team, Z. (2024). Expanding the contributor base: a solution for all climate finance woes? Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/expanding-the-contributor-base-a-solution-for-all-climate-finance-woes/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Expanding the contributor base: a solution for all climate finance woes? Zero Carbon Analytics, 2024. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/expanding-the-contributor-base-a-solution-for-all-climate-finance-woes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Expanding the contributor base: a solution for all climate finance woes? |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=31 October 2024 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/expanding-the-contributor-base-a-solution-for-all-climate-finance-woes/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2024expanding, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Expanding the contributor base: a solution for all climate finance woes?}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/expanding-the-contributor-base-a-solution-for-all-climate-finance-woes/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }