Open letter - Canada and Germany’s way forward on climate finance in 2023

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, developed countries committed to a goal of mobilizing jointly USD100 billion dollars a year by 2020 and through 2025 to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation. Canada and Germany have taken leadership roles through their ongoing advocacy efforts to raise ambition of other contributor countries on global progress on the USD100 billion annual climate finance goal. This includes co-leading on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan in 2021 and its Progress Report in 2022.

On September 15, 2023, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Jennifer Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action issued the following statement:

“This year, communities around the world have been experiencing heartbreaking climate extremes. July 2023 is being called the hottest month ever recorded, which also included the highest ever ocean temperatures for this time of year.  More than ever, we all need to do more to respond to the impacts of the climate crisis. Climate finance can and must play an essential role in achieving this. In his open letter to UNFCCC Parties to the Paris Agreement, COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber also emphasized climate finance as fundamental to facilitate ambitious climate action and support developing countries’ efforts on climate-resilient development. As we look towards COP28, it is clear that delivering on our climate finance commitments is more important than ever before.

In this context, this letter seeks to outline a common path forward for climate finance as contributors strive to fully deliver on the USD100 billion annual climate finance goal by the end of the year. By providing clarity on upcoming milestones, we hope to highlight opportunities for meaningful engagement between all Parties in the lead up to COP28 to lay a strong foundation for productive discussions on climate finance in December, including within the scope of deliberations on the new goal for climate finance post-2025, the New Collective Quantified Goal.

Canada and Germany are working, together with the wider contributor community, to advocate for the delivery of the USD100 billion goal in 2023. In May 2023, we convened climate finance contributors on the margins of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue to assess progress on the goal. During this meeting, we heard positive updates from contributors, enabling us to express continued confidence that the goal would be reached this year as projected in the Climate Finance Delivery Plan. Since then, both of our countries along with other contributors have made ambitious pledges to the Second Replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). We look forward to other contributors announcing similarly ambitious contributions as a demonstration of collective commitment to honoring our climate finance pledges, and ensuring the USD100 billion goal is met in 2023 and through to 2025.

While we are confident the goal will be met this year, data on climate finance delivered in 2023 will not be available until 2025 due to data requirements and reporting processes in place. Providing sufficient time for data on climate finance to be collected, compiled, and reported by contributors and subsequently assessed and analyzed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an integral part of efforts to ensure transparency and accountability.

However, several anticipated deliverables from the OECD will provide further evidence and insights in the lead up to COP28. This includes the publication of climate finance provided and mobilized in 2021.

Beyond data on climate finance provided and mobilized in 2021, the OECD will also publish thematic reports on adaptation finance and private finance mobilized prior to COP28. These reports will provide valuable analysis on the current landscape and opportunities for improvement along these two crucial dimensions of climate finance. The insights featured in both reports will supply valuable tools to be leveraged by all, including contributors as they continue working to operationalize the Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report’s call for action on adaptation and private finance mobilized. We will continue engaging with the OECD as they prepare these reports and work diligently to implement their recommendations once published. Following the publication of these reports, we intend to take stock of findings and discuss the way forward as we work to ensure ongoing communication on the goal in the lead-up to COP28.

As we continue learning from more than a decade of climate finance, the broader landscape is undergoing significant shifts. We believe these ongoing dynamics send a positive signal and pave the way for increased ambition. Efforts to replenish this year the Green Climate Fund at the scale needed to meet growing challenges, including recent ambitious pledges from several contributors, show that we are working to maximize the impact of key tools at our disposal. Ongoing work on key issues, such as access to climate finance, also contributes to improving the way we deliver climate finance. Efforts to implement recommendations from the Taskforce on Access to Climate Finance and improved processes at the GCF are steps in the right direction.  In addition, work is underway to reform the international climate finance architecture, in an effort to improve its ability to adequately respond to the threats of climate change and the needs of developing countries. Harnessing this current momentum, as demonstrated earlier this year at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, is vital in enabling progress.

Delivering on past promises is crucial as we each strive to do our part to collectively tackle the challenges posed by climate change. That is why we are committed to working collectively with other contributors to ensure the goal is reached this year, while also working to make climate finance more effective. The road to COP28 presents a valuable opportunity to collaborate to identify shared priorities on climate finance—this is an opportunity we must leverage to enable progress.”