Five Takeaways From the Paris Summit to Fix Global Climate Finance
More than 40 world leaders attended the talks that built momentum for a climate-ready financial system.
World leaders and finance leaders attend the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, in Paris on June 23
Photographer: Lewis Joly/AFP/Getty Images
After two days of talks overhauling the global financial system to tackle climate change, more than 40 world leaders who assembled in Paris this week made limited progress on reforms that could increase support from rich countries to poor countries facing crises.
The negotiations — across a number of working groups, panels and bilateral talks — resulted in an eight-page summary full of dense verbiage, as is the custom in international climate negotiations. The document cites vague indicators of progress, and some claims came in for immediate criticism from experts and NGOs. Examples include a call to boost support for carbon credits, efforts to propel the nascent biodiversity credits market, and renewed backing and demands to scale debt-for-nature swaps.