This year’s COP was primarily focused on how to mobilize sufficient climate finance to help developing countries transition to cleaner forms of energy and industrial development. The headline is that the new quantified goal is a tripling of current levels, to $300 billion per year by 2035. unfccc.int/documents/644460. It’s far lower than experts say is needed (in the trillions, not billions). The text is surprisingly weak on the role of the private sector (only mentioned twice in the text). (2/5)

Developing countries must “take the lead” in providing climate finance, which opens the door for countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, and China to make contributions. Indeed “developing” country parties are “encouraged” to make contributions. But, the moat between “developed” and “developing” is wide and remains highly bifurcated. (3/5)

Earlier this year, I proposed an alternative approach, namely that each country nationally-determine its approach to climate finance in nationally-determined financial contributions (NDFCs), both domestic and internationally (see @ForeignAffairs article tinyurl.com/2xfxtf6s). This approach would automatically cause richer “developing countries” to clarify their contributions to the global south. (4/5)

China seemed to anticipate demands that it make transparent contributions but got away with only needing to make voluntary commitments. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said in his speech that “Since 2016, China has provided and mobilized funds of more than Yuan 177 billion ($24.50 billion), effectively supporting other developing countries in coping with climate change.” According to spglobal.com, “China's annual average contribution was around $2.7 billion. In 2022, developed countries contributed a total of $115.9 billion in climate finance, with the US government providing about 5%, or $5.8 billion”spglobal.com/commodityinsigh… (5/6)