COP29 High Level Event: Unlocking Access to Climate Finance

Enhanced access to finance will be vital if climate vulnerable developing countries are to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change, which are increasing at an unprecedented pace. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are among the most susceptible to climate-related impacts, with rising sea levels and extreme weather events threatening to displace communities and jeopardize livelihoods. These countries also need to build sustainable pathways to green growth. The amounts required are considerable, far outstripping current levels of investment. Yet SIDS and LDCs continue to face substantial challenges in mobilizing the finance they need due to inefficiencies of the global climate finance system and the challenge in getting finance to where it is most needed. 

By bringing together national governments, financial institutions, and experts, this high-level event aims to accelerate collective efforts, enhance ambition, and help deliver the changes needed to unlock finance at speed and scale in alignment with developing countries’ own priorities, building on the reform processes already underway across the climate finance architecture. There will be discussion on the reform of major financial institutions, country-led approaches to complementary, coherent and long-term financing, and mobilizing sources of finance for adaptation, nature and green growth pathways at a scale that enables implementation of robust climate action plans.