What climate finance is flowing to the most vulnerable countries?

The level of climate finance available to the most vulnerable countries is falling well short of what is needed, according to figures in an exclusive new Devex report. In 2009, world leaders committed that they would spend $100 billion annually from 2020 until 2025 to mitigate the effects of climate change. In 2022, $115.9 billion was spent by developing economies, surpassing the yearly goal. It was the first time these countries met the $100 billion goal since its inception back in 2009. Despite this, many countries around the world are growing more vulnerable to climate-related disasters, and most experts consider the $100 billion figure to be far too low. According to the Climate Policy Initiative, $8.1 trillion is needed annually to address climate change — which includes both mitigation and adaptation. The amount needed annually might even increase to $9 trillion by 2030. In 2021/2022, mitigation finance totaled $1.15 trillion — the highest it has ever been. Adaptation finance, however, fell short of the $212 billion per year goal with only $63 billion. The effects of climate change will differ from country to country. Although different studies were made to pinpoint which countries are more at risk, there is no consensus. However, the poorest countries are generally viewed as among the most vulnerable. Devex looked at multiple sources of data such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Climate Policy Initiative, the European Union, and the United Nations to provide information on those countries. What are the donors doing to address climate change? The OECD has implemented a set of policy markers to assist in categorizing development aid geared towards the environment: biodiversity, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, the environment, and desertification. Then the aid is further classified as either principal or significant. Principal refers to the aid having climate as its primary objective, while significant refers to climate goals being a secondary objective with significant climate impact. Based on OECD data, member countries of the Development Assistance Committee committed $37.4 billion for principal climate-related aid in 2022 while $78.9 billion went to significant climate-related aid. Climate change mitigation was the main priority with a principal commitment of $17.4 billion, followed by the environment with $12.2 billion. Germany was the biggest contributor with a total of $9.7 billion, followed by Japan with $7.9 billion, and then France with $6.5 billion. Multilateral donors also play a big role in climate finance. Data from Climate Funds Update, an independent website that assesses climate contributions, suggests that multilateral donors have a cumulative approved funding of $33.5 billion while $13.6 billion has already been disbursed. Countries most at risk Devex identified 10 countries that are at high risk from climate change and examined what funding they are currently receiving, to provide a snapshot of current levels of aid. Afghanistan Bilateral principal aid: $50.7 million. Approved multilateral funding: $23.9 million. Afghanistan’s fragility and the political crisis expose the country to climate shocks. It is estimated that the country would need $20 billion between 2020 and 2030 in order to address climate change. The country’s biggest bilateral donor is Germany with $28.4 million while its biggest multilateral donor is The Green Climate Fund with $19.8 million in approved funding, of which $4.8 million has been disbursed. Bangladesh Bilateral principal aid: $1.9 billion. Approved multilateral funding: $424.3 million. Bangladesh’s primary threats are an increase in precipitation and floods. An estimate of $230 billion is needed to implement its national adaptation plan — a series of outlined projects intended to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change within 27 years. The top bilateral donor for Bangladesh is Japan with $1.2 billion in principal funding while the biggest multilateral donor is GCF with $355.7 million in approved funding. Central African Republic Bilateral principal aid: $10.5 million. Approved multilateral funding: $40.8 million. The Central African Republic is at risk because of the high levels of poverty within the country despite being a low contributor to global carbon emissions. It is estimated that the Central African Republic would need an average of $57.5 million per year up to 2050 to address climate change. The country’s biggest bilateral donor is France, committing $10.5 million, while the biggest multilateral donor is the Least Developed Countries Fund with $9.6 million. Chad Bilateral principal aid: $23.1 million. Approved multilateral funding: $20.6 million. Chad is a victim of intense flooding and rising temperatures and is projected to continue experiencing rising temperatures by the 2060s. The country is estimated to need around $6.7 billion to implement climate action. France is the largest bilateral donor with $13.1 million in principal climate-related aid, while it has an approved funding of $8.7 million from the Least Developed Countries Fund. Democratic Republic of Congo Bilateral principal aid: $221.9 million. Approved multilateral funding: $13.1 million. There is an estimated need of $12.5 billion to address climate change mitigation in the DRC. The country is one of the biggest recipients of climate financing in this list, but it receives far less than it actually needs. The largest bilateral donor of the DRC is Germany, accounting for 68% of the total — or $151.7 million. On top of that, the country also has $8.9 million of approved funding from the Least Developed Countries Fund. Ethiopia Bilateral principal aid: $365 million. Approved multilateral funding: $229.8 million. The World Bank classifies Ethiopia as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change because of its reliance on rain-fed agriculture. The country experiences two different weather extremes: drought and flooding, which the country has had a hard time recovering from. Recent estimates suggest Ethiopia would need $275 billion for mitigation interventions, but the amount it currently receives is far lower. Ethiopia’s largest bilateral donor is Norway, committing a total of $149.4 million toward principal climate objectives. The biggest multilateral donor is GCF with $189.5 million in approved funding and $62.9 million already disbursed. Nigeria Bilateral principal aid: $484.4 million. Approved multilateral funding: $19.5 million. Like its neighbors, Nigeria has experienced a multitude of climate-enhanced natural disasters that affect agriculture, water resources, and infrastructure. Nigeria is one of the signatories to the Paris Agreement, committing to reducing its emissions by 20% by 2030. Despite its proactive approach to combating climate change, the country still needs a whole lot more — $117 billion — from 2021-2030 in order to stick to its commitments. Nigeria’s largest bilateral donor is France, with $210.5 million. Multilaterally, the biggest donor is Global Environment Facility with $15.4 million. Somalia Bilateral principal aid: $19.3 million. Approved multilateral funding: $6.7 million. Somalia experienced its worst drought in 40 years during the pandemic, which displaced millions of people and led to famine. It committed to reducing its emissions by 30% by 2030, but it would need $55.5 billion by then to tackle its climate issues. The largest bilateral donor is Germany, committing $13.7 million in principal climate-related funding. While the Green Climate Fund was the biggest multilateral donor with $3.4 million in approved funding, of which it has already disbursed $692,053. South Sudan Bilateral principal aid: $16.1 million. Approved multilateral funding: $10.6 million. South Sudan is a country with high fragility and low climate readiness, has been a victim of severe flooding for four consecutive years, and is expected to experience more flooding in the coming years. The largest bilateral donor is Norway, contributing most of the principal climate-related aid with $9.7 million. The country only has one source of funding from a multilateral donor — the Global Environment Facility, with $10.6 million in approved funding. Syria Bilateral principal aid: $13.7 million. Approved multilateral funding: $12.2 million. Because of the ongoing war, which plunged the country further into poverty and destroyed a lot of critical infrastructure, climate-related issues are being overlooked. Germany was the primary source of bilateral climate funding for Syria with $8.4 million while the Adaptation Fund was the largest multilateral source, with $10.8 million already disbursed. Try out Devex Pro Funding today with a free five-day trial, and explore funding opportunities from over 850 sources in addition to our analysis and news content.