The narrative of South-South cooperation has grown in recent years to encompass the sharing of knowledge, skills, expertise and resources between developing countries. Outside the limited set of developed countries considered responsible for providing international climate finance, a broader ecosystem is taking hold, including efforts and contributions directly between developing countries (South-South) and “triangular” cooperation involving stakeholders from developed countries. These cooperative actions complement, rather than replace, existing North-South flows.

Today, developing countries are an important part of the global climate finance landscape. WRI research shows that South-South voluntary climate finance could be counted in the billions.This rise can also be seen in the establishment of multilateral development banks backed by developing countries, as well as increases in bilateral relationships. New financial commitments, platforms and mechanisms to invest in climate action are emerging from South-South efforts, and regional forums and partnerships have become increasingly important to plans for reaching climate finance goals. South-South climate finance can draw on countries’ shared experiences in development, deploy regional expertise and deepen markets for green entrepreneurship and climate solutions.  

These developments complement and augment the climate finance that developed countries are responsible for providing to enhance climate action in developing countries.

Working with the WRI network, we encourage the rise of South-South climate finance in the context of the overall increase in investment needed to reach the goal of mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for climate action in developing countries by 2035. We also consider South-South cooperation on issues such as the phase-out of environmentally harmful and polluting technologies and policies while advancing finance for real-economy climate solutions. Our approaches include convening stakeholders around shared interests; accountability and monitoring of investment flows; circulation of best practices; elevation of systemic issues hampering access to finance; and data.