As the world’s largest climate finance provider, the European Union (EU) is committed to making international climate finance easier to access, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable countries. Today 13 November, the COP31 Presidency hosted an event dedicated to access to finance in Antalya, attended by the EU.
This is part of a wider global effort to implement the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance agreed at COP29. To drive this forward, the EU is working with partner countries, international financial institutions, and the private sector to make climate finance easier to access, faster to deliver, and better targeted, while making sure it cuts emissions, builds resilience, and supports locally owned solutions.
In 2025, the EU and its 27 Member States contributed €32.3 billion in climate finance from public sources and mobilised an additional €9.3 billion in private finance to support developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Climate finance remains unevenly distributed, however. According to the OECD, a fraction of total flows reach Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), even though those totals have increased significantly since 2016. While needs remain significant and private investment limited, using public resources to reduce risks and attract private investment is essential to scale finance for climate action.
Countries and communities in the lead
Climate finance works best when it reflects countries’ own priorities and responds to local needs. The Commission therefore supports the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) Facility, which helps countries design their own strategies to finance sustainable development, in line with their national climate and adaptation plans. In the Pacific, the EU and Sweden launched the Pacific-European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP) to support locally-led marine and coastal resilience efforts in partnership with national institutions and local communities.
Strong institutions are equally important. Through EUROCLIMA, the EU supports the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States’ (OECS) Climate Finance Action Platform in the Eastern Caribbean to help national institutions strengthen climate finance management and integrate climate action and disaster risk management into public policies and budgets. The EU’s Green-Blue Alliance Pacific and Timor-Leste is also active in the region, with support from partners.
New tools to unlock finance
Innovative financial instruments can also help unlock climate finance without adding to their debt burden. In Barbados, a $150 million European Investment Bank (EIB) guarantee developed alongside the Inter-American Development Bank and other partners is enabling the national government to replace more expensive debt with lower-cost financing, generating around $125 million in fiscal savings to be channelled into climate-resilient water and wastewater investments. This guarantee also includes the EIB’s first Climate Resilient Debt Clause, providing for greater repayment flexibility in the event of severe climate shocks.
The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX) and its EU Market Creation Facility are helping reduce currency risks for climate investments in emerging markets, supported with up to €396 million in guarantees and €23 million in technical assistance.
The EU’s Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI) also aims to mobilise up to €20 billion in private capital for sustainable investment in EU partner countries through green bonds, while helping develop strong domestic green bond markets based on credible standards, so that every investment delivers real climate and environmental benefits.
Turning ideas into bankable projects
In smaller countries, individual projects are often too small to attract investors. Bundling smaller projects into larger programmes can help overcome this challenge. The EU supports this through initiatives such as the Pacific Regional Electrification Programme (PAC-REP), the Nature-based Solutions Infrastructure Incubator and the Global Gateway Infrastructure Investment Facility in the Pacific.
Building pipelines of investment-ready projects is another EU priority. EU initiatives such as the EU-EIB Global Gateway Support Facility, and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Sub-Saharan Africa are supporting this. The EIB is also working with the European Commission to help SIDS, LDCs and other vulnerable countries turn national adaptation priorities into investable projects, under the EU International Adaptation Advisory Programme. Similar work is underway through the joint multilateral development bank (MDB) Long-Term Strategies Programme, which helps countries, regions and cities translate long-term climate strategies, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans into policies, investments, financing and delivery pathways.
Better data for better decisions
Reliable climate risk data is essential for assessing investment risks, planning adaptation, and directing money where it has the greatest impact. The Team Europe Initiative on Adaptation and Resilience in Africa helps assess climate-related investment risks, while the Africa-EU Space Partnership and the two regional Copernicus centres in Latin America and the Caribbean provide Earth observation and climate data services to inform risk assessments, resilience and investment planning.
The EIB is complementing these efforts with tools such as ClimateSET (Climate Hazard Screening and Exploration Tool), a new free, open-access tool developed with the Copernicus Climate Change Service to translate climate data into practical information for investment decisions.
