The analysis of private finance mobilised by bilateral public climate finance from 2012 to 2022 reveals several trends. The EU has consistently led in mobilising private sector funds for climate initiatives, with a notable surge in 2022. Mobilised private climate finance from the US and the UK have also increased. Germany and France have maintained steady contributions.

Country-level analysis reveals that bilateral public climate finance in Africa has been distributed across many countries, with Morocco, Ethiopia, and Egypt receiving the largest amounts.

Depending on the year analysed, different countries emerge as the largest recipients. Increases in one country are often offset by decreases in subsequent periods, demonstrating the high volatility and shifting regional focus of this support. There is no evidence of any single country becoming the primary focus of bilateral public climate finance.

Among the environmental goods analysed from the selected exporters, solar panels represent the largest export market by volume, with China maintaining a dominant position since 2012.

This dominance became particularly pronounced from 2015 onwards, peaking in 2021. Electric vehicles (EVs) represent the second-largest export category, with China again leading, closely followed by the EU. Although the EV market is growing rapidly, export volumes remain below those of solar panels, suggesting that demand for electric vehicles in developing countries is still maturing. Wind power technologies are the third most exported category, and in this area, the EU leads in cumulative exports. While the EU dominated wind power exports from 2012 to 2021, China overtook it in 2018, reflecting shifting global competitiveness in the sector.

Although EU currently remains close to China in the EV market, we have seen a steep increase in exporting activity from China in the last 2/3 years which could signal potential changes in the future market. In other words, this reflects the point that if we continue along the current trajectory, China will soon dominate the EVs market.

At the Member State level, Germany is the EU’s primary exporter across the three technologies: solar panels, electric vehicles, and wind power.

Between 2000 and 2010, the EU’s public climate finance was primarily directed toward mitigation. However, from 2010 onwards, adaptation finance steadily increased, reaching parity with mitigation by 2020. This shift reflects a broader recognition of the importance of balancing immediate adaptation needs with long-term mitigation goals, particularly in vulnerable regions.

In contrast, the United States continued to focus predominantly on mitigation across most of the observed period. Adaptation finance remained comparatively limited until 2022, when a sharp increase made it the dominant focus. This shift likely reflected renewed commitments to climate action under the 2021–2024 US administration, accompanied by expanded pledges and multilateral engagement.

Africa has received steadily increasing volumes of both adaptation and mitigation finance over time. While mitigation was the primary focus until 2010, adaptation finance gradually gained ground and reached equal levels by 2020. This growing balance highlights the continent’s dual need for urgent adaptation to climate impacts and sustained investment in low-carbon development.

In Latin America, mitigation finance has consistently exceeded adaptation finance since 2010, largely driven by efforts to address emissions from energy, deforestation, and agriculture. Similarly, South Asia and South-East Asia have also seen mitigation dominate throughout the observed period.

In the Pacific region, adaptation finance has consistently surpassed mitigation finance, reflecting the region’s acute vulnerability to climate impacts such as sea-level rise and extreme weather events. Nevertheless, some fluctuations occurred during 2016–2018, when mitigation finance temporarily exceeded adaptation.