This dashboard presents “bottom-up” climate finance needs, based on data reported by countries to reach their national climate targets. These figures are drawn directly from countries’ official quantifications and action plans outlined in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

In contrast, CPI's top-down climate finance needs are estimated using predictive models to assess the total investment required to align with international climate finance goals, representing the climate finance needed to keep the average global temperature rise within 1.5°C by the end of this century.

Top-down and bottom-up needs estimates each shed light on climate finance needs from a different perspective. Bottom-up needs take a country perspective, outlining governments' priorities as well as the domestic and international capital required to achieve national climate goals. Top-down needs, on the other hand, take a sectoral and technology-based perspective, outlining what would be technically required (and feasible) to put the world on a climate-compatible pathway.

At present, the cumulated commitments as per currently submitted NDCs are insufficient to align to a net-zero pathway. As a result, bottom-up needs are materially lower than top-down needs. CPI's methodology and data on top-down needs are available here.

Our latest methodology document can be found here. It details CPI’s approach to aggregating bottom-up climate finance needs, including a full list of documents reviewed, data collection and standardization process, assumptions and limitations.

Do…

• Interpret needs estimates as those within the defined scope.The figures in the dashboard represent only the climate finance needs quantified within countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to date, not comprehensive needs across all planning documents for all countries.


• Consider the wide variation in data quality across countries. Keep in mind that the accuracy and refinement of needs estimates depend heavily on each country's institutional capacity, resources, and the methodologies used. Approaches and underlying assumptions vary significantly from one NDC to another.


• View results as a snapshot of current country ambitions rather than complete requirements. Understand that these estimates reflect what countries have currently quantified and committed to, providing insight into stated priorities and plans.


• Recognize these as baseline estimates that may be complemented by other sources. Be aware that many countries have established additional action plans with quantified needs in external documents (e.g., National Adaptation Plans, National Communications, sector strategies).

Do Not…

• Do not view as the total capital required for net zero alignment. Current NDC ambitions are insufficient to meet Paris Agreement goals. These estimates represent a lower bound. The actual capital required for a 1.5°C pathway is much greater in scale. To explore global, 1.5° C-aligned climate finance needs, visit the Top-down climate finance needs data dashbord.


• Do not interpret as total climate finance needs for all countries.These figures do not represent comprehensive global or national needs, as they exclude: (i) needs quantified in documents other than NDCs, and (ii) countries that have not quantified needs in their NDCs.


• Do not assume all estimates are equally robust or comparable.Given the wide variation in methodologies, institutional capacity, and resources across countries, estimates should not be treated as uniformly accurate or directly comparable without considering these differences.


• Do not overlook that these are country-driven estimates with inherent limitations.The quality of bottom-up needs estimations reflects the quality of underlying methodologies and assumptions used at the country level, which vary based on available expertise and resources.