Climate Financing: A Critical Challenge
These initiatives require substantial increases in climate financing and financial support for developing nations. Guterres emphasized that meaningful progress depends on delivering existing funding commitments, mobilizing US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035, and reforming financial systems to unlock public and private investment in sustainable infrastructure and resilience .
IPCC Chair Jim Skea highlighted the challenges: “The expansion of renewable sources of energy has been concentrated in just a few geographies: mainly China, Europe and North America. Progress in many parts of the world, including Africa and much of Asia, has been slower. The barriers here are not technological, but relate to policy and economics” .
Renewable energy technologies are capital-intensive, and the high cost of capital in many developing countries is an obstacle to progress. Further investment in infrastructure, including storage and grid interconnection, is also needed .
Adaptation Gaps
The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report concluded that progress in adaptation has been made across all sectors and regions, but progress has been unevenly distributed, with obvious adaptation gaps . Most adaptation is fragmented, small in scale, incremental, and focused more on planning than on implementation .
Only 1% of adaptation finance currently comes from private sources . Skea noted that the new IPCC finance chapter will consider opportunities for enhancing private sector engagement through insurance, addressing supply chain risks, and contributions to early warning systems .
Technological Solutions
Methane Reduction Technology
Existing technology can eliminate “super super-pollutant” methane. Guterres set out three steps governments and industry can take:
- Detect and fix every leak and eliminate routine flaring and cold venting
- Make emissions measurable, reportable, and verifiable
- Adopt a science-based global methane standard and build a market for near-zero-methane energy
“Countries like Norway have already shown the way,” Guterres said. “If every producer matched its standards, methane from oil and gas would fall by 90%” .
Carbon Dioxide Removal
The IPCC is addressing knowledge gaps related to “overshoot pathways”—temporarily exceeding 1.5°C and then returning to below that level by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere . Emerging carbon dioxide removal techniques include Direct Air Capture, biochar, and enhanced weathering of rocks.
The IPCC’s next Working Group report on mitigation will devote an entire chapter to carbon dioxide removal, and a Methodology Report on estimating atmospheric removals from emerging technologies is due for approval at the end of 2027 . After that report is published, it will be possible to include novel carbon dioxide removal technologies in national greenhouse gas inventories and cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement .
Progress in Renewable Energy
Despite the challenges, there are encouraging developments. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report highlighted 80% reductions in the cost of solar PV and batteries for passenger electric vehicles since the turn of the century. Wind energy costs have also fallen substantially .
Wind and solar energy together now account for more than 10% of global electricity supply. It is reported that renewables accounted for 85% of all new capacity additions to electricity systems in 2025 .
Skea noted: “A world of lower greenhouse gas emissions and zero carbon electricity, whether sourced from renewables or nuclear energy, is a world of greater energy self-sufficiency—a pertinent consideration in today’s troubled geopolitical situation” .
Key Financial and Technological Targets
| Target | Details |
|---|---|
| Annual Climate Finance by 2035 | US$1.3 trillion |
| Methane Reduction Potential | 70% from oil/gas with existing tech |
| Renewables Share of New Capacity (2025) | 85% |
| Cost Reduction (Solar PV since 2000) | 80% |
| CO₂ Removal Research | IPCC Chapter in next cycle |