A UN official emphasized the urgent need for increased international climate finance during remarks at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development Programme Virtual Event. With over a trillion dollars invested in climate action globally last year, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell stated that international climate finance must “grow up, step up, and scale up” to ensure that more countries and companies benefit while genuinely protecting all communities.
As COP29 approaches in Baku, Stiell urged governments to agree on a new goal for international climate finance that addresses the needs of developing nations. “COP29 must be the stand-and-deliver COP,” he asserted, highlighting that climate finance is essential for saving the global economy and billions of lives from the severe impacts of climate change.
Stiell called for mechanisms to track and ensure the delivery of promised funds, advocating for the leveraging of private finance and signaling to financial markets that green investments are where the opportunities lie. He emphasized the importance of funding a new generation of national climate plans to convert pledges made at COP28, including tripling renewable energy, doubling energy efficiency, boosting adaptation, and transitioning away from fossil fuels, into tangible outcomes.
He also highlighted the need for the Loss and Damage Fund to become fully operational, ensuring that resources reach those who need them most. Stiell warned against the temptation for nations to turn inward during times of division, urging a focus on solutions that provide the benefits of bold climate action—stronger growth, more jobs, improved health, and secure, affordable clean energy—for all nations.
“This is the only pathway to every nation surviving and thriving,” he concluded.
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