The $100B pledge and its shortfall
Developed nations committed in Paris 2015 to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt and mitigate climate impacts. The goal was not fully met until 2022, and of the amount sent, roughly half is concessional (grants or near-free loans) while the rest is market-rate financing that developing nations must repay. Actual need estimates run 3-10x higher, making the pledge a floor, not a ceiling.
Adaptation vs mitigation, and who pays
Most climate finance goes to mitigation projects (renewable energy, grid modernization) because they generate measurable emissions reductions that developed nations can credit toward their own targets. Adaptation (seawalls, drought-resistant crops, early warning systems) is equally urgent for vulnerable countries but generates no carbon credit, so it remains systematically underfunded. This split creates a perverse incentive where developing nations become funding-dependent for survival measures while their mitigation efforts subsidize developed-world carbon offsets.