Breaking the Standoff: Post-2020 climate finance in the Paris agreement

Overview

Climate finance is fundamental to a fair and effective global climate agreement. Too few countries have delivered on their obligations. As a result, the world’s poorest people have not benefitted from the necessary investment, and climate finance has been a major obstacle to achieving a global climate change agreement.

This paper suggests a new approach that recognizes the failings of the current climate finance regime and is better informed by needs and opportunities at the national level. It could break the current standoff and trigger a collaborative effort that delivers effective investment at scale in both mitigation and adaptation. Along with ambitious emissions reduction pledges by developed countries, this is key to success in the 2015 Paris climate negotiations.

See also Stockholm Environment Institute discussion brief ‘Estimating International Mitigation Finance Needs: A top-down perspective’