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Explainer-COP29 – How does $300 billion stack up?
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
By Karin Strohecker and Simon Jessop
BAKU (Reuters) – Countries agreed at the U.N.’s COP29 climate conference to spend $300 billion on annual climate finance. Here are some ways of understanding what that sum is worth:
In 2023, governments around the globe spent $6.7 billion a day on military expenditure, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
That means the $300 billion annual climate finance target equates to 45 days of global military spending.
$300 billion is currently the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days, according to Reuters calculations based on global crude oil demand of approximately 100 million barrels/day and end-November Brent crude oil prices.
According to Forbes, Elon Musk’s net worth stood at $321.7 billion in late November. The world’s richest man and owner of social media platform X has co-founded more than half a dozen companies, including electric car maker Tesla and rocket producer SpaceX.
Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating and deadliest cyclones in U.S. history, caused $200 billion in damage alone in 2005.
This year’s climate-fueled Hurricane Helene could end up costing up to $250 billion in economic losses and damages in the U.S., according to estimates by AccuWeather. While preliminary estimates by Morningstar DBRS suggest Hurricane Milton, also supercharged by ocean heat, could cost both the insured and uninsured nearly $100 billion.
The global luxury goods market is valued at 363 billion euros ($378 billion) in 2024, according to Bain & Company.
The GDP of Chile – the world’s largest copper producing country – stood at $335.5 billion in 2023, according to World Bank data.
Euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund spent some 260 billion euros ($271 billion) between 2010 and 2018 on bailing out Greece – the biggest sovereign bailout in economic history.
Britain’s new government needs to borrow more to fund budget plans. Gilt issuance is expected to rise to 296.9 billion pounds ($372.05 billion) for the current financial year.
A 10% share of tech giant Microsoft is worth just over $300 billion, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile the market cap for U.S. oil major Chevron stood at $292 billion.
The annual climate finance target amounts to 75% of the total value of the global market for crypto currency Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.
Alternatively, 3 million Bitcoin would cover the annual climate finance target as the world’s largest cryptocurrency closes in on the $100,000 mark following a rally fuelled by Donald Trump winning the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
($1 = 0.7980 pounds)
($1 = 0.9600 euros)
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Simon Jessop; Editing by Katy Daigle and David Gregorio)
Climate finance refers to financial resources allocated to projects and initiatives aimed at addressing climate change, including mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period.
The luxury goods market encompasses high-end products that are often associated with quality, exclusivity, and high price points, catering to affluent consumers.
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