BAKU, Azerbaijan – Countries agreed at the United Nations’ COP29 climate conference to spend US$300 billion (S$404 billion) on annual climate finance. Here are some ways of making sense of what that sum is worth:
In 2023, governments around the globe spent US$6.7 billion a day on military expenditure, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
That means the US$300 billion annual climate finance target equates to 45 days of global military spending.
US$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, Mr Elon Musk’s net worth stood at US$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 US history, caused US$200 billion in damage alone in 2005.
This year’s climate-fuelled Hurricane Helene could end up costing up to US$250 billion in economic losses and damages in the US, according to estimates by AccuWeather. Preliminary estimates by Morningstar DBRS suggest Hurricane Milton, also supercharged by ocean heat, could cost both the insured and uninsured nearly US$100 billion.
The global luxury goods market is valued at US$378 billion in 2024, according to Bain & Company.
The gross domestic product of Chile – the world’s largest copper-producing country – stood at US$335.5 billion in 2023, according to World Bank data.
Euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund spent some €260 billion, equivalent to about US$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 US$372.05 billion for the current financial year.
A 10 per cent share of tech giant Microsoft is worth just over US$300 billion, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile, the market cap for US oil major Chevron stood at US$292 billion.
The annual climate finance target amounts to 75 per cent of the total value of the global market for crypto currency Ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.
Alternatively, three million bitcoin would cover the annual climate finance target as the world’s largest cryptocurrency closes in on the US$100,000 mark following a rally fuelled by Donald Trump winning the Nov 5 US presidential election. REUTERS