Study shows lack of funds limits climate efforts in lower-income nations

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🗞️ Driving the news: A University of Melbourne study reveals that low- and middle-income countries are struggling to secure climate finance due to flawed investment metrics
• The current systems, designed to measure emissions associated with government debt, disfavor nations with lower GDPs and higher reliance on emissions-intensive industries
• This limits their ability to adapt to climate change, further threatening global climate efforts

🔭 The context: Existing financial metrics, which are intended to steer climate investment, often overlook the unique challenges faced by less wealthy countries
• These nations are penalized for their emissions profiles, despite being the ones most in need of funds for climate adaptation and mitigation
• The study urges a redesign of these frameworks to adequately reflect historical emissions and future climate actions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Ensuring equitable climate finance is crucial for global efforts to combat climate change
• If countries most vulnerable to climate impacts can’t access funding, it endangers not only their progress but also the global response to climate change

⏭️ What's next: Researchers call for the development of new financial metrics that prioritize climate needs over current emission intensity profiles
• Collaboration between investors, regulators, and researchers is essential to enable fair access to climate funds for lower-income countries

💬 One quote: “If well-meaning sustainable finance metrics make it harder... this endangers our global response to climate change” - Arjuna Dibley, lead author of the study

📈 One stat: In 2020, only 19% of the $83.3 billion in global climate finance flowed to low-income countries, despite their significant vulnerability to climate impacts

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