WEF 2025: $7.1 billion committed to climate and health, yet most affected countries face challenges

A new report released at the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in 2025 shows that total funding for the climate and health nexus reached $7.1 billion in 2022, a significant increase from less than $1 billion committed in 2018. This notable growth indicates that major financial partners are increasingly prioritizing climate and health issues.

However, despite the increase in funding, these resources are not adequately reaching the countries most affected by climate change. Specifically, less than 35% of the funds from bilateral donors are flowing to these nations, and less than 50% of the total analyzed funding is reaching low-income countries. “Reaching the Last Mile” is one of the global philanthropic health initiatives led by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Dr. Naveen Rao, Senior Vice President of Health at the Rockefeller Foundation, stated, "While the increase in financing for climate and health projects is a promising step in the right direction, the total funding is still far from sufficient to protect lives and livelihoods from the devastating impacts of climate change. Public, private, and philanthropic donors must increase their commitments to climate and health, while ensuring that funds reach the communities that need them most."

The analysis, conducted by SEEK Development in collaboration with adelphi consult and AfriCatalyst, defines climate and health financing as international concessional funding for initiatives within and outside the health sector that address the direct health impacts of climate change, assist health sectors in adapting to and mitigating climate change, and/or generate health co-benefits from climate action. With increased political support for climate and health initiatives from the G20, COP, and the World Health Assembly, donors have stepped up their efforts to allocate funding to projects at the climate and health nexus.

In 2022, this financing included $4.8 billion in commitments from bilateral donors; $1.5 billion in commitments from two health multilateral funds; $600 million in commitments from four multilateral development banks; $130 million in commitments from philanthropic organizations; and $23 million in commitments from various climate multilateral funds. The report also highlights that bilateral donors are increasingly integrating climate considerations into health investments: the share of climate finance allocated to the health sector surged from 1% in 2018 to 9% in 2022. However, 24% of the available funding provided in 2022 was in the form of loans rather than grants. Over 90% of the total funding from the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank for climate and health financing was also disbursed as loans.

“Well-funded climate action is an opportunity to transform countries and economies and achieve health and well-being for all,” said Nasser Al Mubarak, CEO of “Reaching the Last Mile.” “As the report shows, now is the time to invest in more ambitious, coordinated, and accessible financing that is directed to where it is most needed.” Vanina Laurent-Ledru, Director General of the Foundation S, stated, “Countries at the frontlines of climate change urgently need easier access to finance to protect the health of their populations. Business as usual is no longer an option; public, private and philanthropic partnerships can help accelerate flexible funding directly to local communities so that they can urgently build climate-resilient health systems.”

This analysis has several limitations, reflecting the transparency and clarity challenges countries face in accessing funding. First, donor data on climate and health commitments are self-reported and use varying definitions of climate and health, which complicates verifying which commitments represent new financing for climate and health initiatives rather than reclassifications of related commitments or projects. Additionally, the lack of standardized data on funding flows from different funders and sectors hinders comparisons across funding categories. Despite acknowledging these limitations, this report presents its findings as an initial overview of the funding landscape, providing a baseline understanding to support climate and health financing.

In an era of multiple crises and increasing fiscal constraints, countries have limited avenues to fund climate and health priorities. Evidence from the white paper suggests that funding from bilateral donors may plateau or even decline in the near future. However, multilateral development banks, along with health and climate multilateral organizations, are progressively emphasizing climate and health in their strategies, signaling an opportunity to leverage financing to achieve dual climate and health goals. Yet, despite the enhanced funding outlook, countries still face barriers in accessing resources due to fragmented, complex, and cumbersome financing processes, as well as limited domestic capacity to access large-scale investment funding.

To address these challenges, the report urges donors, civil society, academia, and policymakers to help countries access the necessary funding through the following actions: Increase funding available for climate and health: Scaling up funding for climate and health solutions across sectors is both necessary and feasible. Fiscal policy reforms and efforts to reform the global financial architecture can further strengthen financing for shared climate, health, and development goals. Coordinate investment priorities and frameworks to maximize impact: A clear consensus across all sectors on evidence-based, high-impact climate and health investments will guide funders to allocate more resources to these initiatives and support local decision-making in prioritizing these actions. Accelerate delivery and improve access to finance: Funders must streamline and expedite access to financing for proven, high-impact climate and health interventions while countries develop their funding channels for more transformative actions. Clear and public investment priorities, investment amounts, key performance indicators, and application processes can also facilitate access to funding. Direct funding to national priorities: As national priorities are further defined and updated (e.g., through Nationally Determined Contributions), funders must collaborate and align investments to enhance impact and reduce burdens on countries. Future financing must focus on scaling up grant-based financing that does not exacerbate debt crises or hinder the ability of the most affected countries to invest in health, climate, and economic well-being. Standardize definitions and improve transparency: Funders and normative bodies must agree on clear definitions and adopt consistent approaches to report their climate, health, and cross-sectoral financing. Transparent reporting will make investments more visible and enable donors, countries, and advocates to track funding and close critical gaps based on needs.