Third Report of the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, November 2024.
Note by Planetary Security Initiative: Among the effects of climate change are migration with 20 million people already forced to leave their home due to extreme weather events each year. Other impacts of climate change include increased poverty and inequality, risks for women and children, competition over land and water and as well as food insecurity. Indeed, a 2 degrees Celsius rise in global temperatures is projected to plunge an extra 189 million people into hunger. Timely investments in the appropriate sectors and regions are crucial to mitigate the impacts of climate change on environmental security.
The Independent High Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance has been supporting the deliberations on the climate finance agenda under successive COP Presidencies since COP26. It has been tasked to help develop recommendations to encourage and enable the public and private investment necessary for delivery of the commitments of the Paris Agreement. This is the third report of the Group.
The report updates the IHLEG’s estimates of investment requirements for climate action and sets out the agenda to deliver these investments in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) other than China. Estimates of investment needed to deliver on the Paris Agreement span across five crucial areas:
- Clean energy transition
- Adaptation and resilience
- Loss and damage
- Natural capital
- Just transition
Here are its key findings:
- Investments in all areas of climate action must increase across all economies. US$6.5 trillion is needed on average per year by 2030 to meet climate targets in advanced economies, China, and EMDCs other than China.
- The largest increase in investment is required in EMDCs other than China. These regions currently have low investment levels, significant development needs, and are projected to contribute over 50% of global emissions by 2030.
- Investment needs are most clearly defined in the energy transition sector. Meanwhile, other areas have more uncertainty, sufficient data exists to provide directional estimates that can guide financing pathways across regions.
- Any shortfall in investment before 2030 will place added pressure on the years that follow, creating a steeper and potentially more costly path to climate stability. The less the world achieves now, the more we will need to invest later.
These are extracts from the third report of the Independent High Level Expert Group (IHLEG) on Climate Finance by Amar Bhattacharya, Vera Songwe, Eleonore Soubeyran and Nicholas Stern, November 2024. It puts forward policy options and recommendations to encourage and enable the public and private investment and finance necessary for delivery of the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The full report can be accessed through the link here.