The top 5 climate donors

Last month, the COP 26 presidency published a Climate Finance Delivery Plan that outlines how and when high-income countries can reach the $100 billion climate finance goal — the promise made to the world’s lower-income countries in 2009 that has yet to be achieved. Climate financing data isn’t easy to track. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development development assistance committee’s Rio markers have similar issues as the gender marker methodology — the definition of “climate” is rather loose, which potentially means donors can overstate how much they are directing toward climate goals. Despite this, they are one of the key datasets used to track and evaluate progress. Below we explore the available donor funding data from OECD that is analyzed by Donor Tracker. According to the tracker, the total climate change contributions include those for mitigation, adaptation, and financing meant to address both. This means that for climate adaptation financing, both adaptation and crosscutting funding are exclusively accounted for. Top countries funding climate-related projects In 2019, $79.6 billion was allocated for climate-related financing — 40% went to mitigation and 16% went to adaptation. Almost 80% of the $34.4 billion bilateral overseas development assistance for climate objectives came from these top five climate donors, which channeled climate finance mostly through multilateral agencies such as the Climate Investment Funds, Global Environment Facility, and Green Climate Fund. Germany Climate change contributions in 2019: $8.3 billion Development agencies investing in climate: German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and KfW Entwicklungsbank In 2019, Germany committed 49%, or $9.6 billion, of its total bilateral allocable aid to the Rio Convention — equal to its share in 2018. Of this funding, $8.2 billion focused on climate change — prioritizing mitigation, with BMZ and KfW managing the vast majority of the funding — 90% of Germany’s global climate financing. The majority of the climate financing was spent on energy-related projects worth $2.2 billion, primarily focusing on energy conservation and renewable sources. This was followed by agriculture with $1.2 billion and water supply and sanitation with another $1.2 billion. Among its bilateral climate finance recipients, India received 17% of the total climate financing and $776 thousand — 51% of which are energy sector-related financing — followed by Georgia and Jordan. Explore Germany’s climate-related financing opportunities on Devex. Japan Climate change contributions in 2019: $6.3 billion Development agencies investing in climate: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Environment, and Japan International Cooperation Agency Although Japan is the donor that spends the largest portion of its total development assistance on climate, in 2019, the country’s total climate ODA dropped by 36% compared to the previous year. Japan’s climate strategy, which was created after COP 16, focuses on technology-sharing for disaster preparedness and response, as well as the development of infrastructure related to energy conservation, renewable energy, and forest management. The biggest portion of its climate financing — 88% — was allocated for climate mitigation projects. In June 2021, the country announced its plan to provide ¥6.5 trillion ($57 billion) for climate finance in the next five years. Explore Japan’s climate-related financing opportunities on Devex. EU institutions Climate change contributions in 2019: $5.6 billion Development agencies investing in climate: European Commission and European Investment Bank In 2019, EU institutions committed 35.5%, or $6.6 billion, of their total bilateral allocable aid to environmental assistance and the Rio Convention. As the continent continues to strengthen its climate initiatives, the European Green Deal was crafted in December 2019 as a new road map, which covers all sectors of the economy, to boost the efficient use of resources. The bloc's bilateral ODA for climate was $5.6 billion — a 26% increase from 2018 — of which 48% was allocated to climate change adaptation, according to Donor Tracker’s analysis. The top sectors that received climate financing were agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, and social services. Turkey received $1 billion, followed by Myanmar with $130 million, and Georgia with $122 million, according to the OECD marker’s data. Explore the European Institutions’ climate-related financing opportunities on Devex. France Climate change contributions in 2019: $4.7 billion Development agencies investing in climate: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Agence Française de Développement From a $2.6 billion slash in spending in 2018, France saw a 214% increase in climate financing in 2019, with $4.7 billion in climate-related ODA. Of this, 73.3%, or $3.5 billion, was allocated to projects with climate as a principal goal — the highest among the donors in relative terms and second in absolute terms, next to Germany. According to Donor Tracker, the country committed to spending €5 billion in climate financing in 2020, with €1.5 billion for climate change adaptation focused on climate-smart agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. It also made a €4 million contribution to the CREWS Initiative earlier this year for early warning services in low-income countries. Explore France’s climate-related financing opportunities on Devex. United Kingdom Climate change contributions in 2019: $2 billion Development agencies investing in climate: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The U.K. has been steadily increasing its climate spending since a dip in 2016, with $2 billion in total climate-related ODA in 2019. Out of this amount, a quarter was allotted for projects with climate as a principal goal. Ahead of COP 26, which it is hosting, the U.K. has led the creation of the Energy Transition Council, which will help low-income countries access green energy technologies. It also announced its plan to provide £50 million to a new Clean Energy Innovation Facility and £11.6 billion to the International Climate Finance. Explore U.K.’s climate-related financing opportunities on Devex. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free 5-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850+ sources in addition to our analysis and news content.