$12 trillion needed for climate mitigation needs in Hindu Kush Himalayas: Report

The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region requires approximately $12.065 trillion from 2020 to 2050 for climate mitigation and adaptation, according to a new report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

This amounts to an annual average of $768.68 billion, with India and China representing over 92.41% of these needs, Meanwhile, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Pakistan face critical financing gaps relative to their GDPs.

India’s total climate finance need for the 2020 to 2050 period is around $2.685 trillion. The actual flow seen during the 2018 to 2021 period was $80.6 billion. For China, the total needs are around $8.46 trillion.

Globally, climate finance flows reached approximately $1.3 trillion annually in 2021/2022, predominantly directed toward mitigation activities in developed and larger emerging economies. In contrast, the HKH region receives significantly lower shares, with multilateral and bilateral climate finance frequently failing to meet committed levels, the report has said.

Theregion is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, facing growing threats from extreme weather events like glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), landslides, droughts, floods, forest fires, and intense monsoons. The frequency, intensity, and duration of these events are increasing, exacerbating risks to ecosystems, food security, and livelihoods, particularly in rural and mountainous areas. Coastal regions also face cyclones, sea-level rise, and salinity intrusion, while urbanization strains water, energy, and transport systems

Sectors crucial to the region, such as adaptation, agriculture, water management, and disaster risk reduction, remain significantly underfunded despite their critical importance. Limited private sector engagement, insufficient institutional capacity, fragmented policy landscapes, and weak data infrastructure further compound these challenges.

“Mobilising the ambitious target of $12 trillion is like climbing the Everest of funding,” said Ghulam Ali, Innovative Investment Specialist and lead author of the report. “The strategy to mobilise these resources has to be creative, comprehensive, and collective to achieve such significant goals.”

The key sources for the estimate include the first report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties by United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Standing Committee on Finance, UNFCCC submissions, World Bank, United Nation Environmental Programme (UNEP), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI’s) Global Landscape of Climate Finance, and the Aid Atlas (2018– 2021); national / country-specific reports, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Communications (NC), and Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) among others.

The report identifies a stark disparity in climate vulnerability and financial capacity. Countries highly exposed to climate effects, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan, are also the least equipped to manage these risks,it states.

The HKH region faces an adaptation burden far exceeding global averages, forcing nations like Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan to spend significantly more than income-group averages on disasters and adaptation, trapping them in a cycle of repair with limited funds for other needs.

“The crisis is framed as an economic equality issue. The annual per capita climate finance needs ranges from as low as $ 24 in some countries to over $2,126 in others, representing 6% of GDP to a crippling 57%, respectively. This places immense pressure on policymakers who are facing trade-offs between development and survival for vulnerable populations. GDP to a crippling 57%, respectively. This places immense pressure on policymakers who are facing trade-offs between development and survival for vulnerable populations,” it added.

The report has recommended building strong national institutional capacities and governance frameworks to manage and mobilize climate finance effectively; establishing an HKH Climate Finance Network to facilitate knowledge exchange, capacity building, and collaborative regional financing efforts; leveraging innovative financial instruments, such as green and blue bonds, debt-for-climate swaps, and voluntary carbon markets, tailored specifically for mountain economies; enhancing private sector engagement through improved enabling policies, incentives, and creation of bankable projects among others.

HT reported on November 24 that India has welcomed several significant decisions adopted at COP30, including a work programme on Article 9.1, which is a legal obligation for developed countries to provide financial resources to assist developing countries in taking climate action. HT reported on November 22 that world governments reached a compromise climate deal after nearly a week of talks that pitted developed against developing countries over who should bear the burden of climate action. Rich nations resisted strong language on delivering climate finance while developing countries refused a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap without guaranteed support for transition.

The agreement secured at COP30 establishes work programmes and makes aspirational calls for more climate finance, but omits any mention of fossil fuels in the formal text and weakens earlier commitments on adaptation funding. The text establishes a two-year work programme on climate finance, including on Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement — the legal obligation requiring developed countries to provide financial resources to developing nations for climate mitigation and adaptation. It also convenes a high-level ministerial roundtable to reflect on implementing the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance agreed at COP29 in Baku.