Climate finance
Financial resources directed towards mitigation or adaptation activities.
Example
Funding can come from public institutions, businesses and other private actors.
The catch
A finance total does not itself demonstrate an achieved climate outcome.
In more depth
Climate finance, explained.
Climate finance totals depend heavily on what gets counted. A grant and a market-rate loan of the same size both appear in many tallies at face value, though the loan must be repaid with interest and adds to the recipient's debt. Private money mobilised by public funds raises further questions about attribution, since investors might have committed some of it anyway.
Most flows have gone to mitigation, which can earn returns, while climate adaptation has received a smaller share. Under the UN climate talks, richer countries have made collective pledges to provide and mobilise finance for developing countries, and loss and damage now has its own fund and debate. When you read a figure, check the instrument, the recipient and whether the money is new.