For more than 20 years, WRI has identified annual “stories to watch.” These are the year’s moments, issues and decisions that we believe will shape the future trajectory of the world. In the past, we’ve highlighted things like dangerous heat in cities, major elections and their effects on geopolitics, food system reform and more.

This year is different. There aren’t stories to watch in 2025. There’s just one — but it affects everything from climate action to nature conservation to human rights. It’s a story that too often flies under the radar despite vast implications for the future of life as we know it.

It’s climate finance — and this year is a bellwether of the world’s ability to provide it at scale.

2025 Is the Year to Care About Nature and Climate Finance

At last year’s UN climate summit (COP29), wealthy nations agreed for the first time in 15 years to increase the amount of money they provide for climate mitigation and adaptation in developing nations. The new target — $300 billion annually by 2035 — is better than the previous goal of $100 billion a year by 2020. But it’s still a far cry from what’s needed. That’s why leaders from all nations also agreed that all actors should work together to mobilize $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 for the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This $1.3 trillion recognizes the gap between what developing nations can realistically provide domestically for things like clean energy development and climate-smart agriculture, and what will be needed from external sources. It will be extremely difficult to secure the $1.3 trillion. But make no mistake: We must do it.

We know what will happen without adequate climate finance: Resource-strapped communities will suffer the most from increasingly devastating droughts, floods, wildfires and heatwaves, even though they’re least responsible for causing the problem. That’s why delivering the $1.3 trillion isn’t just about finance — it’s about justice.

Read the full article about climate finance by Ani Dasgupta at World Resources Institute.