From Pledges to Action: A Critical Analysis of Climate Finance in the Post-Paris Agreement Era

Abstract The UN climate conference in Baku resulted in the New Collective Quantified Goal, aimed at tripling climate finance for developing countries to USD 300 billion annually by 2035. However, if past goals, though less ambitious, have largely fallen short, then the climate regime should undergo further reforms beyond setting a higher quantitative commitment. This article assesses why the climate finance legal framework falls short of aligning financial flows with developing countries’ needs. It develops an analytical framework to assess the legal obligations on climate finance in the post-Paris Agreement era. Drawing on an empirical analysis of state practices, patterns of insufficient performance, structural shortcomings, and tensions with principles of the regime—such as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and the completeness, consistency, comparability, and accessibility of climate finance information—are identified. Finally, targeted reforms to better align the legal framework with the climate finance needs in developing countries are proposed.