Paris Goals At Risk Without $2.4 Trillion Investment In Developing Countries

The goals of the Paris Agreement will be missed unless there is a rapid and substantial increase in investment in emerging market and developing countries, leading finance experts have warned. A trillion dollars of that should come from rich countries, investors and multilateral development banks, UN-backed report says.

The IMF/World Bank Spring meeting needs to kickstart this process. The more progress these institutions make on unlocking more cash for climate increases the chances of COP29 agreeing a new finance target (the NCQG).

The report states:

“We are far behind on climate action globally, as evident from the first Global Stocktake. This is because the world is not investing sufficiently and too much of the investment is still misdirected. Investment in fossil fuel production and power generation still continues to outstrip what is being invested in renewable power generation.

“While global efforts to tackle climate change are increasing, albeit more slowly than necessary, EMDCs are facing setbacks and obstacles in every critical aspect of the low-carbon transition. This includes the shift to clean energy in both its supply and use, enhancing adaptation and resilience, addressing loss and damage, the protection and restoration of nature, and ensuring a just transition.

Developing and emerging countries excluding China need investments well beyond $2 trillion annually by 2030 if the world is to stop the global warming juggernaut and cope with its effects.

The rest of the money – about $1.4 trillion – must originate domestically from private and public sources, the report released on Tuesday said.

Current investments in emerging and developing economies other than China stand at about $500bn.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy