As the COP29 climate change summit continues in Baku, a new report highlights an urgent call for climate finance to meet critical global goals.

Published by an independent panel of high-level experts, the report recommends mobilizing $1 trillion annually for developing countries by 2030, a move that would help address climate challenges under the Paris Agreement.

By 2035, the report suggests this funding requirement could rise to $1.3 trillion annually for effectively address growing climate risks.

The report warns that any delay in investment could escalate future costs. “Any shortfall in investment before 2030 will put additional pressure on the years ahead, creating a steeper and potentially more costly path to climate stability. The less the world achieves now, the more we will have to invest later,” the report notes.

This urgent message further confirms the need for immediate intervention, sustained action to meet global climate goals.

The expert group, co-chaired by climate finance authorities Amar Bhattacharya, Vera Songwe and Nicholas Stern, has been working on the climate finance agenda under COP presidencies since COP26.

The group aims to support policy options and recommendations that would enable the public and private investment targets of the Paris Agreement, reinforced by the Glasgow, Sharm el-Sheikh agreements and the Global Climate Finance Framework at COP28.

One of the report’s key projections is the global investment need for climate action, estimated at $6.3–6.7 trillion annually by 2030. This includes $2.7–2.8 trillion in advanced economies, $1.3–1.4 trillion USD in China and USD 2.3–2.5 trillion in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) outside China.

A central focus is the role of multilateral development banks (MDBs), including the World Bank, in facilitating this financing. The report calls on the MDB to significantly expand its lending capacity, recommending a three-fold increase by 2030 as part of the New Quantified Collective Goal (NCQG) for climate finance.

With climate finance high on the agenda at COP29, the report stresses the need for developed countries to collaborate in mobilizing resources to help vulnerable nations.

As COP29 progresses, the call for robust, long-term funding for climate action in developing countries remains a focal point, underscoring the global urgency to tackle climate change now rather than later.