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ARTICLE · 05 MARCH 2026

Multilateral Finance And Climate Action: Was COP 30 A Breakthrough?

A&O Shearman
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Multilateral financing goes to the essence of the Paris Agreement Article 9 commitment: that developed countries must provide assistance...

United StatesFinance and Banking
Rachel O'Reilly
Rachel O'Reilly
Scott Neilson
Scott Neilson
Fleur Clegg
Fleur Clegg
Daniel Edwards
Daniel Edwards
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Multilateral financing goes to the essence of the Paris Agreement Article 9 commitment: that developed countries must provide assistance to developing countries for climate mitigation and adaptation. That commitment is now channeled through the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) agreed at COP 29. Multilateral climate funds and multilateral development banks (MDBs) sit at the heart of delivery, and their role has been expressly underscored in recent COP decisions. Yet, while multilateral finance is indisputably necessary, it is not, on its current footing, sufficient.

"Any single COP is unlikely to deliver decisive innovation across all fronts. The path to scale is more likely to be incremental and cumulative, driven by ongoing system redesign rather than one‑off pledges"

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