Determinants of International Climate Finance: A Gravity Panel Model Approach

This paper addresses climate change by examining the determinants of international climate finance. In response to the effects and potential damages of climate change, countries and international institutions are increasingly making efforts to mitigate its impacts. While financial assistance are being increasingly mobilized to help countries confront this threat, many nations remain underprepared for the effects of climate change and are at risk of experiencing significant economic and social damage due to climate-related events. This paper focuses on the allocation of international climate finance, exploring the extent to which countries are supported in their climate change adaptation efforts, particularly with regard to more vulnerable nations. By employing a Gravity Panel Model that includes 140 recipient and 30 provider countries over the period 2000-2021, this paper shows that vulnerable countries to climate change are not likely to receive climate finance in the form of either grants or loans. Political ties and economic interests appear to play a significant role in the allocation of international climate finance.