Multilateral development banks delivered a record $137 billion in global climate finance last year—a 10 per cent increase that underscores the growing scale of international climate investment.
The majority of this funding flowed to low- and middle-income economies, according to a report published today by the European Investment Bank with participation from other MDBs, including the African Development Bank Group.
In addition, MDBs mobilised $134 billion in private finance for climate action in 2024, a 33% increase from the year before, according to 2the 024 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance.
Expanding climate finance will be a central theme at COP30, which is scheduled to take place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.
At the COP29 summit, held late last year in Baku, countries agreed to scale up support for developing countries to at least $1.3 trillion annually from public and private sources by 2035. The findings are expected to inform discussions during the conference.
“Africa is pushing the pedal on actions that transform Africa’s green potential in energy, nature-based solutions, innovation and a vibrant workforce,” said Anthony Nyong, African Development Bank Director for Climate Change and Green Growth.
He added, “We are putting climate adaptation at the heart of this effort. At the African Development Bank, we are walking the talk; we continuously meet our climate finance annual target, and over half of our climate finance goes to helping African countries build resilience, protect livelihoods, and secure a climate-resilience future, while still investing in a greener future.”
The report revealed that low- and middle-income economies received $85.1 billion in MDB climate finance, representing a 14% year-on-year increase, climate finance in these countries more than doubled over the past five years, $58.8 billion (69%) targeted climate change mitigation, while $26.3 billion (31%) addressed adaptation, and private finance mobilised for climate investments stood at $33 billion.
High-income economies received $51.5 billion in MDB climate finance, with $46.5 billion (90%) supporting climate change mitigation and $5 billion (10%) addressing adaptation. Additionally, private finance mobilised for climate investments reached $101 billion.
The EIB prepared the 2024 Multilateral Development Bank Climate Finance Report with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
It combined data from both institutions as well as from the African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Council of Europe Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank Group, the Islamic Development Bank, the New Development Bank and the World Bank Group.
The report comes as MDBs are taking steps to increase the transparency of their climate financing through a digitalisation initiative that will make their data more accessible and user-friendly.
