COP26 is the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. For nearly three decades the UN has been bringing together almost every country for global climate summits – called COPs – which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’. In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority. This year saw the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26. With the UK as President, COP26 took place in Glasgow from 31 October-13 November 2021.
In 2019, $79.6 billion was allocated for climate-related financing. Almost 80% of the $34.4 billion bilateral overseas development assistance for climate objectives came from these top five climate donors, which channeled climate finance mostly through multilateral agencies such as the Climate Investment Funds, Global Environment Facility, and Green Climate Fund.
Top countries funding climate-related projects
1. Germany
Climate change contributions in 2019: $8.3 billion
Development agencies investing in climate: German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and KfW Entwicklungsbank
2. Japan
Climate change contributions in 2019: $6.3 billion
Development agencies investing in climate: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Environment, and Japan International Cooperation Agency
3. EU institutions
Climate change contributions in 2019: $5.6 billion
Development agencies investing in climate: European Commission and European Investment Bank
4. France
Climate change contributions in 2019: $4.7 billion
Development agencies investing in climate: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Agence Française de Développement
5. United Kingdom
Climate change contributions in 2019: $2 billion
Development agencies investing in climate: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs