Multilateral development banks hit record $137 billion in climate finance to drive sustainable development worldwide

• New report shows climate finance by multilateral development banks rose 10% in 2024, compared with previous year.
• MDBs' climate finance for low- and middle-income economies increased 14% to more than $85 billion.
• Mobilised private finance for climate investments worldwide jumped 33% in 2024.

Global climate finance by multilateral development banks (MDBs) increased 10% last year, reaching a record $137 billion, with the majority directed to low- and middle-income economies. MDBs including the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) announced the year-on-year increase in a report published today.

Private finance mobilised by MDBs for climate action reached $134 billion in 2024, a 33% increase from the previous year, according to the new report. The latest climate finance data from MDBs will inform preparations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil in November 2025. Expanding climate finance will be a central theme at COP30. At the last summit, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024, countries agreed to scale up support for developing countries increasing to at least $1.3 trillion annually from public and private sources by 2035.

"At the CEB, we recognise that social and climate goals are intrinsically linked," said Governor Carlo Monticelli. "The projects that our bank finances tackle pressing social challenges, while generating important climate co-benefits."

Climate finance is central to the efforts of MDBs to advance sustainable development worldwide. By supporting investments in renewable energy, green cities, clean transport, water and food security, MDBs help countries move closer to achieving their sustainable development goals.

Digital portal

This year, MDBs are advancing a digitalisation initiative aimed at improving transparency and making their joint climate finance data more accessible and user-friendly. They plan to present progress on this project at COP30. As part of the transition, the 2024 Joint MDB Climate Finance Report is being released as a summary infographic, highlighting key results for the year. Starting in the fourth quarter of 2025, detailed data will be available through an interactive web platform, giving stakeholders, real-time access to climate finance information and enabling them to track MDBs' collective progress towards their climate finance goals.

Low- and middle-income economies

Last year, $85.1 billion of MDB climate finance were for low- and middle-income economies. Climate finance in these countries has more than doubled over the past five years and increased 14% on the year. Of this sum, 69% - or $58.8 billion - went to climate change mitigation and $26.3 billion, or 31%, for climate change adaptation. The amount of mobilised private finance for climate investments in these countries stood at $33 billion.

High-income economies

In 2024, MDB climate finance for high-income countries totaled $51.5 billion, of which $46.5 billion (90%) supported climate change mitigation and $5 billion (10%) supported adaptation. In addition, mobilised private finance for climate investments in high-income countries reached $101 billion.

In 2024, about $1 billion of CEB's financing - equivalent to 21% of total loans approved for the year - qualified as climate finance.

For the summary report with the overview of key 2024 figures click here

MDB climate finance

At COP29 in Baku, MDBs set out financial commitments to help countries achieve ambitious climate results. By 2030, they pledged providing $120 billion annually in collective climate finance for low- and middle-income countries, including $42 billion for adaptation, while mobilising an additional $65 billion a year from the private sector. For For high-income countries, MDBs project $50 billion a year in climate finance by 2030, including $7 billion for adaptation, alongside a further $65 billion in mobilised private finance.

MDB joint reporting on climate finance

The 2024 multilateral development bank climate finance reporting is coordinated and prepared for publishing by the European Investment Bank (EIB), with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and combines data from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the CEB, the EBRD, the EIB, the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the New Development Bank (NDB) and the World Bank Group (WBG).