Council commits 23.04 billion euros to combat climate change by 2021

In 2021, the European Union and its 27 member states committed €23.04 billion in climate finance from public sources to support developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Council approved the figure, in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), which will take place from 6 to 18 November in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. The figure is based on the detailed EU climate finance reporting rules laid down in the governance regulation.

In 2021, over 54% of the funding for developing countries was dedicated to either climate adaptation or cross-cutting action (involving both climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives) and close to half of the total funding was committed in the form of grants, according to data compiled by the European Commission.

EU Mission for Adaptation to Climate Change

The EU and its member states are determined to continue delivering on their international climate finance commitments towards the developed countries’ collective goal of mobilising USD 100 billion per year, which is applicable through to 2025. This resolve is demonstrated by the steady level of EU climate finance in 2021, which exceeds €23 billion for a second time in a row, despite the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

International public climate finance plays an important role in helping developing countries to implement the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, together with climate finance from private sources.

Source: Press release – European Council