Search Climate Insights Directory

In 2024, global public financial support for fossil fuels reached USD 1.2 trillion, nearly five times the USD 254 billion provided to clean energy. The analysis highlights a cycle where energy price shocks lead to regressive blanket subsidies that entrench fossil fuel dependency. While international public finance is trending toward clean energy, G20 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) remain heavily invested in fossil fuels, with 81% of their 2024 capital expenditure funding fossil infrastructure. The authors advocate for replacing blanket subsidies with targeted social protection and aligning SOE investments with transition goals to build resilient, low-carbon energy systems.

International public finance for energy projects by G20 governments and multilateral development banks exceeds USD 100 billion annually. While funding for fossil fuels dropped from USD 151 billion in 2016 to USD 37 billion in 2024, clean energy finance has grown more slowly, reaching USD 47 billion in 2024. The Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) has significantly reduced fossil fuel finance among its members, though the redirection of these funds toward clean energy remains limited.

The analysis finds that tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency improvements, and cutting methane emissions by 2030 and beyond would significantly reduce the rate of global warming and lower projected century-end warming from 2.6°C to 1.7°C.

The report argues that G20 countries are locked into oil and gas systems due to economic, geopolitical, and institutional factors, despite climate commitments. It highlights a contradiction where G20 nations are on track to produce and consume more than twice the fossil fuels permitted under a 1.5°C pathway. The document analyzes the role of National Oil Companies (NOCs), the limitations of carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the regressive nature of fossil fuel subsidies. It proposes a 'Just Transition Taxonomy' to ensure the phase-out protects workers and marginalized communities, particularly in the Global South, and recommends legislating national phase-out plans and redirecting subsidies toward renewable energy.

The report examines how G20 nations, which generate approximately two-thirds of global plastic waste, can utilize extended producer responsibility (EPR) to combat marine plastic pollution. Through a scoping review of 100 sources, it identifies a disparity in effectiveness between mandatory and voluntary EPR schemes, noting that mandatory systems generally achieve higher recycling collection rates. The document provides a detailed mapping of EPR regulations across G20 members and proposes a multi-level approach combining legislative strengthening, market incentives for recycled plastics, technological innovation in ecodesign, and the formal integration of informal waste workers to prevent plastic leakage into the oceans.

The policy brief outlines three critical benchmarks for 1.5 °C-aligned NDCs: tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, phasing out new fossil fuel projects with production declines of 65-95% by 2050, and eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 for G7 nations and 2030 for others. It highlights a significant 'production gap' where major producers plan to increase output despite climate imperatives. The authors recommend that new NDCs include quantitative phase-out targets, commitments to no new exploration licenses, and national roadmaps for subsidy reform that prioritize social protection and clean energy investment.

G20 governments provided at least USD 168 billion in public financial support for renewable power in 2023, which is less than one third of the USD 535 billion provided in fossil fuel subsidies that same year. Advanced G20 economies and China provided 95% of this support, primarily targeting solar and wind energy. To achieve the COP 28 goal of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, annual public support may need to double to approximately USD 336 billion.

The brief argues that climate-related disasters disproportionately affect caregivers, primarily women, and that humanitarian aid often overlooks these gendered vulnerabilities. It proposes six actionable pathways—including equitable redistribution of care, shock-responsive social protection, and care-sensitive risk mapping—to mitigate these risks and optimize financial aid as climate-driven humanitarian needs are projected to rise significantly by 2050.

The report finds that G20 governments provided at least USD 168 billion in public financial support for renewable power in 2023, which is less than one third of the USD 535 billion provided in fossil fuel subsidies. Advanced economies and China account for 95% of this support, leaving many emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) at risk. To meet the 2030 tripling target, public support in G20 countries may need to double to approximately USD 336 billion per year. The report highlights a shift from feed-in tariffs toward market-based mechanisms like auctions and a growing emphasis on domestic manufacturing support in the US, EU, and India.

The We Mean Business Coalition urges governments to align NDCs with a 1.5°C pathway and the Global Stocktake outcomes to provide the policy stability necessary for business investment. The call to action focuses on three pillars: setting ambitious economy-wide and sector-specific targets, developing consistent national and sectoral policy frameworks, and establishing inclusive dialogues with the private sector to co-create implementation solutions.

The logistics sector is projected to grow from US$8.9 trillion to US$18.2 trillion by 2030, yet it currently accounts for 10 percent of global emissions. RMI proposes that G20 nations, which represent 80 percent of global CO2 emissions, lead the transition to sustainable logistics by implementing eco-driving and efficient packaging, establishing multi-level government regulatory frameworks, developing zero-emissions trucking corridors, and utilizing public-private partnerships and multilateral development organization financing to manage high capital risks.

The Global Climate and Health Alliance, representing over 160 health organisations, calls on health ministers at COP28 to treat the climate and nature crisis as a health emergency. The alliance advocates for a full fossil fuel phase-out, a loss and damage fund that addresses health needs, increased climate finance, and the use of health as a key metric for climate action.

NDCs are bottom-up climate strategies submitted every five years to the UNFCCC, focusing on short-term emission reductions and adaptation. While they allow countries to tailor plans to their specific capacities, they lack legal binding and sufficient ambition; current pledges would result in 2.7°C of warming. The document emphasizes the 2020-2030 period as the 'decisive decade' and highlights the 2023 Global Stocktake at COP28 as a critical moment for increasing accountability and ambition before the 2025 NDC updates.

The document argues that energy efficiency is essential for climate and development goals and can be accelerated by shifting individual and business decision-making through positive, emotion-based narratives. It outlines a framework for communication based on four pillars: empowering people, fostering positive emotional connections, recognizing champions, and innovating communication channels. The compendium utilizes case studies from G20 countries across sectors including buildings, industry, and transport to share lessons for global energy-efficiency actions.

The report details the data sources and estimation techniques used to track G20 financial support for fossil fuels, including subsidies, state-owned enterprise (SOE) investments, and international public finance. It highlights significant data gaps and transparency issues, particularly regarding subnational support and Chinese SOE reporting, and explains the methods used to approximate 2022 subsidy levels during the energy crisis.

The document argues that G20 countries, due to their high greenhouse gas emissions and population shares, must phase out fossil fuels through a just energy transition. It identifies four imperatives: tackling fossil fuel-dependent regimes, diversifying economies, providing transition finance, and improving international coordination. The brief concludes with three specific recommendations: improving governance for low-carbon pathways, diversifying economies via transition finance mechanisms, and synchronising global efforts.

The policy brief advocates for the use of digital platforms and real-time data to support climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in India and G20 countries. It suggests that digitalizing crop management enhances decision-making for farmers and policymakers, contributing to global food and economic security. The authors recommend that the G20 convene a committee to develop a systemic agenda for CSA digitalization research and practices.

The report highlights a disparity in G20 funding, with USD 470 billion committed to fossil fuels since 2020 compared to USD 424 billion for clean energy. While some G20 nations show strength in corporate access to renewables and policy frameworks, their overall renewable energy ambitions and net zero targets are described as lagging.

The document argues that GDP is an insufficient measure of success and a 'blind spot' that limits financing for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It proposes that G20 countries adopt 'inclusive wealth' indicators—which measure natural, human, social, produced, and financial capital—by 2025 to shift decision-making from short-term gain toward long-term sustainability and effective climate action.

The report advocates for the G20 to replace GDP as the primary measure of national progress with a framework that accounts for economic, environmental, social, and human assets. It notes that GDP growth often masks the deterioration of natural and social capital, which are essential for long-term wellbeing.