International Climate Finance

International Climate Finance

Climate change is already hurting our planet and its people. Flooding, drought, more intense storms, decreased food production and increased water scarcity, and greater vulnerability to disease are causing heightened suffering around the world.

Although wealthy countries like the United States are most responsible for creating the climate crisis, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people are paying the highest price — in lives and livelihoods lost.

Dealing with climate change is incredibly expensive. Though cost estimates vary, the bottom line is that the less we do now, the more we will pay later.

International climate finance is the provision of funds by developed countries for developing countries to take climate action. People in developing countries require climate finance to meet their health, food, energy, and other daily needs. Climate finance is an ethical, moral, and legal obligation, and an essential component of international climate negotiations.

Friends of the Earth U.S. advocates for the U.S. to provide its fair share of funding, commensurate with what science, justice, and equity demand. We equally push for climate action that is of high environmental and social integrity, people-centered, and democratically-controlled.

For an overview of climate finance, see Paying the High Cost of Climate Chaos: The Story of Climate Finance. Our infographic visualizes who is most responsible for climate change on a global scale (spoiler alert – the U.S.!), who gets hurt the most, what needs to be done, who should pay, where the money can come from, and where the money should go.