COP30 Sees MDBs Step Up Climate Finance for Developing Countries

At COP30 in Belem, Brazil, multilateral development banks (MDBs) reaffirmed their collective commitment to strengthening climate finance delivery for developing countries, announcing new measures to expand resources, streamline processes, and bolster the resilience of economies facing escalating climate shocks. The institutions called for a model of “climate-smart development” built on reliable institutions, resilient infrastructure, risk-responsive financing, and stronger job creation. Their coordinated efforts include improving the risk profile of investments, increasing private-sector mobilization through new instruments, harmonizing procedures to simplify financing, and advancing a joint long-term strategy to support country-led climate planning and implementation.

In 2024, MDBs provided US$137 billion in climate finance and mobilized an additional US$134 billion from private capital. Low- and middle-income countries received US$85 billion of MDB financing and US$33 billion from private investors. The banks said they remain on track to reach US$120 billion in annual financing from their own accounts and mobilize another US$65 billion in private capital by 2030.

MDBs have also doubled their support for adaptation and resilience since 2019, channeling more than US$26 billion to lower-income economies in 2024. At COP30, they presented a new technical paper, From Innovation to Impact: Building Resilience for People and Planet, which compiles more than 100 examples of best practices, financing tools, and policy approaches aimed at strengthening systemic climate resilience. The banks also highlighted new methodologies and metrics to expand nature-positive investments, including a framework for tracking nature finance and guidance on selecting results-based indicators.

The push to scale climate finance comes days after the publication of the Baku to Belém Roadmap, a blueprint outlining how the international community can collectively mobilize US$1.3 trillion per year in climate finance by 2035. The roadmap builds on commitments adopted at COP29 in Baku, where developed nations agreed to provide US$300 billion annually through 2035 under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). The broader US$1.3 trillion target—sourced from all financial actors—is widely regarded as more aligned with the real investment needs of developing countries.

Coordinated by André Corrêa do Lago, Brazil’s ambassador and COP30 president, and Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan’s environment minister and COP29 president, the roadmap was released on Nov. 5 after consultations with governments, financial institutions, and experts. Corrêa do Lago said the document is intended to align climate action with economic and financial reform, adding that its structure “translates scientific urgency into a practical plan for global cooperation and effective results.”

The roadmap identifies five priorities needed to mobilize and deploy capital at scale. These include expanding access to concessional and low-cost finance; improving debt sustainability and fiscal conditions for vulnerable economies; reducing the cost of capital and increasing private-sector participation; building institutional capacity to develop and manage large-scale climate projects; and restructuring global financial systems to direct capital more equitably toward developing nations.

The proposal underscores the need for blended finance instruments to reduce risk for private investors, alongside reforms that create predictable national investment environments. It also stresses that heavily indebted countries must regain fiscal space to pursue adaptation, mitigation, and resilience initiatives without jeopardizing economic stability. Additional priorities include expanding clean energy investment, accelerating nature-based solutions, and advancing just transitions in low-income economies.