Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

"The Money Is Here": COP26 Banks On Boosting Climate Finance

"The Money Is Here": COP26 Banks On Boosting Climate Finance

Cost estimates vary but it is thought that it will take between $3-4 trillion annually -- around 2 percent of global GDP -- to reach net-zero by mid-century.

How can the world find the cash to limit global warming to liveable levels and completely decarbonise the economy within 30 years? That's the $100-trillion-dollar question.

Cost estimates vary but it is thought that it will take between $3-4 trillion annually -- around 2 percent of global GDP -- to reach net-zero by mid-century.

Financiers and governments at the COP26 summit believe they have found a way to come up with enough.

"The money is here if the world wants to use it," said UN climate finance envoy Mark Carney, who has overseen the creation of a vast alliance of banks and funds that say their portfolios are ready for net-zero investments.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) represents assets worth $130 trillion, which Carney and others said it could be mobilised to pay for the world's transition to carbon neutrality.

Its institutions will work towards cutting emissions by 50 percent by 2030, will need to report on progress every year and submit enhanced funding plans every five.

"We now have the essential plumbing in place to move climate change from the fringes to the forefront of finance so that every financial decision takes climate change into account," Carney said.

Finance is a fundamental part of climate action, in theory freeing up developing countries' national budgets and helping them build green infrastructure.

But a historic lack of money from rich emitters has hampered nations' plans.

"We're very engaged in climate action. But finance is a fundamental problem, and it will determine the delivery of our promises," said Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

"We don't need $130 trillion, just $270 billion!" she said, referring to the estimated annual cost of her country decarbonising by mid-century.

The Glasgow funding initiative also raised the hackles of environmental groups, who pointed out that it left the door open for the funds involved to continue investing in fossil fuels.

"More than $130 trillion and not a single rule to prevent even one dollar from being invested in the expansion of the fossil fuel sector," said Lucie Pinson, executive director of the Reclaim Finance initiative.

The alliance has no set limits on carbon "offsets" to reduce net emissions and does not impose targets on indirect emissions.

 'Marathon'


Fossil fuel investment by large banks has risen significantly since the 2015 Paris Agreement was signed.

But finance is waking up to the need to diversify away from dirty energy or risk stranding major assets such as coal mines or gas pipelines that get mothballed before their lifespan expires.

"We're seeing a big change in private finance sector, who is realising that climate risks are important for their portfolios," UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said Wednesday.

Espinosa also hinted that the feted $100-billion-a-year figure -- promised by rich nations more than a decade ago to help vulnerable nations prepare for climate impacts -- would likely be met by 2022.

But even that would be a drop in the ocean of what is needed to decarbonise the global economy.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed the role private finance was likely to play.

"The private sector is ready to supply the financing to set us on a course to avoid the worst effects of climate change," she said.

But the proof will be in how quickly -- and how much -- these initiatives deliver to countries requesting assistance.

Lorena Gonzalez from the World Resources Institute said there had been "encouraging signs" for climate finance at COP26.

"It's crucial these finance reach the countries in 2022 and not in five years or later," she said.

Simon Stiell, Grenada's minister for Climate Resilience, said that the funding potential of the Glasgow alliance to keep the 1.5C temperature goal in reach was akin to a "marathon".

"The sprint is adaptation, to adapt to 1.1C", the amount Earth has already warmed, he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×