Riccardo Liguori MDBs mobilized $137B in climate finance in 2024, driving private investment and supporting vulnerable countries ahead of COP30.
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Unprecedented wave of funding is being mobilized in the fight against climate change. In 2024, multilateral development banks (MDBs) mobilized a record $137 billion in climate finance, marking a 10% increase compared to the previous year. This figure, highlighted in a joint report released by the banks themselves, comes at a critical moment: just weeks before COP30 in Brazil this November, where the topic of financial support for developing nations will once again dominate the negotiations table.
Where the funds go: mapping investments
A close look at the financial flows reveals a clear priority. The vast majority, $85.1 billion, was directed toward low- and middle-income countries, those most exposed to climate impacts and with limited capacity to cope. Notably, for the world’s poorest nations, this type of financing has more than doubled over the past five years, signaling growing attention to the planet’s most vulnerable areas.
But how are these resources being used in practice? The lion’s share, $58.8 billion (69%), went to mitigation projects, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as developing renewable energy infrastructure. The remaining $26.3 billion (31%) was invested in adaptation projects, essential for helping communities withstand and adjust to climate impacts that are increasingly inevitable.
The remaining $51.5 billion of total funding was directed toward high-income countries, again with a clear tilt toward mitigation ($46.5 billion) over adaptation ($5 billion).
Leveraging private sector investment
One of the report’s most significant insights is not just the funds directly disbursed by the banks, but their ability to act as a catalyst for private investment. MDBs helped mobilize $134 billion in private capital in 2024, a one-third increase over the previous period. This leverage effect is crucial, as many governments are cutting their official development aid budgets, and the public sector alone will never bridge the financial gap needed for a green transition.
A hopeful signal ahead of COP30
This record financing takes on particular significance in the context of international negotiations. At COP30, countries will be asked to present new and more ambitious climate plans, capable of attracting the private investments essential for accelerating action.
“Multilateral development banks are clearly supporting the move toward accelerated (climate finance),” said Nancy Saich to Reuters, chief climate change expert at the European Investment Bank (EIB), one of the institutions involved in the report.
Yet her comments temper the enthusiasm with a dose of realism. “We hope that by showing our financing is working, this will encourage countries to submit ambitious national climate plans at the COP. Overall, we are still not on track for a safe world and safe temperatures.”
