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Provided by: Council on Foreign Relations |Published on: December 13, 2025
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Synopsis
In this article from the Council on Foreign Relations, students will learn what climate finance is and why funding plays a central role in addressing climate change.
Students will examine how governments, institutions, and private actors support mitigation and adaptation efforts through financial systems and understand that funding needs to increase dramatically to address climate change.
The article clearly defines climate finance and breaks complex economic concepts into manageable sections.
Concrete examples help students connect abstract financial systems to real climate action.
Prerequisites
Students should understand basic economic ideas such as investment, public spending, and incentives.
Differentiation & Implementation
Teachers can extend this topic into conversations about human rights and environmental justice, using this additional article to draw connections.
This resource supports connections to SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
Teachers can challenge older or advanced students to come up with a method to incentivize others to invest in adaptation measures.
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About the Partner Provider
CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations
CFR Education provides accurate, accessible, authoritative resources that build the knowledge, skills, and perspective high school and higher education students need to understand and engage with today’s most pressing global issues.
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