- First global mapping of super pollutant finance flows tracks US$9 billion in 2023 and shows a critical gap between climate commitments and investment
- Methane receives just 4% of the annual finance needed for reductions consistent with what the Global Methane Pledge target requires
London, 14 October 2026 – Just 1 in every 200 dollars of global climate mitigation finance tracked in 2023 went to measures addressing super pollutants, despite their contribution to around half of global warming to date, according to a new report developed by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and commissioned by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).
State of Super Pollutant Abatement Finance, the first global mapping of finance for measures addressing super pollutant emissions, identifies US$9 billion in 2023 commitments, equivalent to just 0.5% of climate mitigation finance that year. The findings establish a baseline for understanding where investment is flowing, where gaps remain, and what it will take to translate climate ambition into financed action.
The stakes extend beyond climate. Cutting super pollutants can slow near-term warming while improving air quality, health, and agricultural productivity. A separate UNEP–CCAC assessment, Hidden Assets, estimates that every US$1 invested in 25 proven integrated climate and clean air solutions could generate around US$15 in economic benefits.
“The solutions are ready, but the finance isn’t,” said Martina Otto, Head of the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat. “We know how to cut these pollutants, we can act now, and the returns are significant, but investment is nowhere near the scale needed.”
“Super pollutant abatement—highly cost effective and with low barriers to implement—needs to become part of mainstream climate investment,” said Barbara Buchner, CEO, Climate Policy Initiative. “Reaching scale quickly is achievable if we leverage a few key tools: revising national climate plans and disclosure frameworks to explicitly cover super pollutants, improving abatement policies, and expanding development of financial instruments designed to address super pollutant abatement.”
Where finance is flowing and where it is missing
The report finds that finance is concentrated in a small number of sectors and regions:
- Waste and transport account for 42% and 31% of tracked finance respectively, while industry, residential energy, power generation, and fossil fuel activities together received just 3%. Data gaps mean low tracked flows do not always indicate low actual investment.
- Methane received US$5.2 billion, the largest identified share for any super pollutant, but this represents only 18% of annual investment needed to meet existing national methane commitments and 4% of what is required for reductions consistent with the Global Methane Pledge target.
- Regional disparities are significant. East Asia and the Pacific receives 30% of tracked finance while Western Europe receives 14%. In both regions, investments are largely supported by domestic private capital. In Sub-Saharan Africa, which receives 13% of tracked finance, international public finance plays a larger role in development-linked measures.
- Public finance provides 54% of tracked finance flows, underscoring their role where health, climate and development benefits are not fully reflected in commercial returns.
From climate commitments to investment
The findings come as governments step up action on super pollutants through initiatives such as the Global Methane Pledge, the Kigali Amendment and the EU Methane Regulation. But while political commitments have grown, investment remains far below what is needed to deliver them.
The report identifies three priorities for closing this gap: stronger policies and better finance tracking, support to develop investable projects, and financial instruments that can attract capital to sectors and markets where investment remains limited.
Public finance has a particularly important role to play. With more than half of tracked investment coming from public sources, the findings show the need for governments and development finance institutions to help bring projects to market, address financing barriers and attract private investment where possible.
The report also establishes the first common framework for tracking super pollutant abatement finance across sectors and regions. This gives governments, development banks and investors a clearer picture of where money is going, where gaps remain, and where additional investment could make a difference.
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About the State of Super Pollutant Abatement Finance
The report tracks public and private finance committed in 2023, the most recent year with sufficiently complete data, across nine sectors. It introduces the first taxonomy for consistently identifying and tracking super pollutant abatement finance, adopting a measure-based approach, building on CPI’s Landscape of Methane Abatement Finance series and the State of Global Air Quality Funding series.
This report was commissioned by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-convened initiative, with financial support from the CCAC Trust Fund. The analysis was developed by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), with guidance, review and project coordination from the CCAC Secretariat. The CCAC Secretariat and Trust Fund are hosted by UNEP.
About Climate Policy Initiative
Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is an analysis and advisory organization with deep expertise in finance and policy. CPI’s mission is to support governments, businesses, and financial institutions in driving economic growth while addressing climate change.
About Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC)
The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
Its global network includes hundreds of state and non-state partners, and hundreds of local actors carrying out activities across economic sectors. CCAC is also the Secretariat to the Global Methane Pledge. The CCAC Secretariat and Trust Fund are hosted by UNEP.
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