COP26: Mobilizing Trillions in Climate Finance

Political Climate

Climate finance has been center stage at COP26. Meeting the globe’s climate goals will require mobilizing trillions of public and private dollars. So what exactly does that look like?

During the first week of the UN climate summit, 450 financial institutions with $130 trillion in assets under management pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The announcement from the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) led by UN Special Envoy Mark Carney represents a massive commitment to shift funds out of fossil fuels and into creating sustainable economies.

But will the promise live up to the hype? We break down the significance of this and other major finance pledges made at COP26 with Justin Guay, director for global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project.

Plus, a commitment from wealthy countries to spend $100 billion per year on helping poorer nations mitigate and adapt to climate change remains a sticking point in the global climate negotiations. But even if rich nations deliver more money in climate aid, many countries will see little benefit because they face enormous hurdles accessing the funds available.

In the second half of this episode we speak to Benjamin Bartle, project director with RMI's Climate Finance Access Network (CFAN) about what it really takes to put these climate dollars to work.

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Recommended reading:

• Bloomberg: Carney Unveils $130 Trillion in Climate Finance Commitments
• Scientific American: U.S. Agrees to End Fossil Fuel Financing Abroad
• AP: UK sets net-zero plan for its financial sector
• RMI: The Crisis of Climate Finance: “Access Means Survival"