Climate finance from multilateral banks to reach $125 billion by 2023 By Reuters

By Marcela Ayres

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Global climate change financing from multilateral development banks will rise 25 percent in 2023 to a record $125 billion, according to a report on Friday, with the fastest growth coming in more developed countries. rich.

According to the report, climate finance for high-income economies, a World Bank category based on gross national income per capita, increased by 30 percent to $50.3 billion. Climate finance generally refers to financing activities related to climate change and can include grants, loans and bond proceeds.

The expansion of multilateral bank climate finance in low- and middle-income economies was smaller, rising 23 percent to $74.7 billion.

The report includes data from 10 institutions, including the World Bank Group and development banks focused on Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and the BRIC countries.

Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn said the increase in climate finance was significant, but stressed the need for more ambitious efforts to tackle growing climate disasters, from heat waves to floods.

“This is a challenge that crosses political lines, beyond countries, geography and incomes. It is a matter for everyone to deal with,” he said, anticipating a message to be delivered to the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York right now. month.

Individually, the countries that received the most climate finance from institutions last year were France ($7.4 billion), Spain ($7 billion) and Italy ($6.7 billion).

Many emerging economies, which often face scarcer financial resources and greater vulnerability to extreme weather conditions, have called for more financial support to mitigate the climate crisis, especially as debt financing costs have risen.

Much of the growth in climate-focused investment has focused on renewable energy and reducing emissions, rather than adapting to the impacts of climate change, such as rising seas and more intense droughts, fires and storms.

Of the $125 billion that institutions directed to climate finance last year, $27.7 billion, or 22 percent of the total, was for climate change adaptation, down from 25 percent in 2022 .