- Report home
- Key findings
- Trends in air quality funding
- Top funders for air quality
- Forms of funding
- Where is funding going?
- Which sectors get air quality funding?
- Funding for fossil fuels vs air quality
- Deep dive: Southeast Asia
- Funding focused on super pollutants
- Recommendations for development donors
Overview of recent fossil fuel-prolonging funding
In 2024, fossil fuel-prolonging funding dropped by 48%, after two consecutive years of growth.1 Despite the decline, four of the top five recipients remain the same, with the addition of Ukraine into the top five. This caused the ratio of fossil fuel-prolonging funding to outdoor air quality funding to fall from a three-year peak of 3:1 in 2023 to around 1:1 in 2024.
The year-on-year drop in fossil fuel-prolonging funding was largely in the energy sector, with gas, coal and oil production, and generation-related projects all seeing reductions. Only LNG funding rose, likely reflecting continued investment in LNG infrastructure amid heightened energy security concerns and efforts to diversify gas supply following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting 2022–23 gas supply shock.2 The 2023 peak in fossil fuel-prolonging funding included large projects like the Matabari Ultra Supercritical Coal-Fired Power Plant in Bangladesh,3 for which $1.5 billion was tracked in 2023. Large projects were less prevalent in 2024 – the value of the top ten largest projects fell from $6.1 billion in 2023 to $3.2 billion in 2024.
Fossil fuel-prolonging funding dropped by 81% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 62% in South Asia, and 57% in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2023 to 2024. Southeast Asia was the only region to see an increase, receiving $452 million of funding, primarily for a large airport expansion in Thailand.4
Top countries getting fossil fuel-prolonging funding
Fossil fuel-prolonging funding falls for most recipient countries in 2024
Fossil fuel-prolonging funding can play a large role in supporting economic development and energy access and security in developing countries. However, longer term risks must be considered alongside development objectives. Many countries have limited capacity and ability to cover the associated costs of adverse air quality, such as respiratory illness, lower productivity, and environmental degradation.5 Additionally, the increasing affordability of cleaner technologies like solar PV6 provides developing countries with the opportunity to leapfrog pollution-intensive development pathways. This enables countries to expand energy access and critical infrastructure without locking in fossil fuel developments and their associated health costs.7
Several countries saw decreased fossil fuel-prolonging funding in 2024 but nevertheless remained leading recipients over 2020-2024 because of large flows in previous years (see table below). Such funding to Bangladesh fell by 96% to $113 million, down from $2.6 billion in 2023. Similarly, Iraq’s funding fell by 73% in 2024.
Ukraine entered the top 5 recipients following a 30% increase to reach $289 million in 2024. While Ukraine’s ongoing conflict has created acute energy security needs, its fossil fuel-prolonging funding has been relatively stable since 2022. Its emergence among the largest recipients reflects a broader decline in fossil fuel-financing among other nations, rather than a substantial increase in its flows.
| Rank | Country | FFP funding ($ billion) | Share of total FFP funding (%) | Total AQ funding ($ billion) |
| 1 | Bangladesh | 3.7 | 15% | 7.8 |
| 2 | Egypt | 2.7 | 11% | 8.7 |
| 3 | Iraq | 1.8 | 7% | 0.3 |
| 4 | Pakistan | 1.7 | 7% | 0.6 |
| 5 | Ukraine | 1.0 | 4% | 1.9 |
Large energy and aviation projects drive fossil fuel totals in 2024
Two large loans from the Islamic Development Bank accounted for 23% of total fossil fuel-prolonging funding in 2024. These loans, which totalled $1.1 billion, funded LNG, crude oil, and petroleum products in Egypt and Pakistan. JICA also provided $396 million for an oil refinery upgrade in Iraq.8 Investment in aviation also remained a key driver. Two of the five largest projects in 2024 were airport expansions in Thailand and the Maldives, totalling $792 million and funded by the AIIB and the Saudi Development Fund, respectively.9
While there is a need to meet immediate energy demand, continued investment in long-lived fossil fuel assets significantly increases the risk of stranded infrastructure and lock-in to a fossil fuel-dependent development pathway, especially as renewable energy capacity continues to expand and cheapen. Aviation is still considered a fossil fuel-prolonging investment, given the limited near-term availability and uptake of sustainable aviation fuels and alternative aviation technologies, despite its economic development benefits.
Notes and references
1Methodology updates have been undertaken to improve the tracking of fossil fuel prolonging funding. The decline in 2024 occurs independently of these changes. See Clean Air Fund & CPI. 2026. The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2026 Methodology.
2IEA. 2024. Global Gas Security Review 2024
3JICA. Nd . Matabari Ultra Super Critical Coal-Fired Power Project
4AIIB. 2024. U-Tapao International Airport Expansion Project
5World Bank, 2022. Air Pollution and Climate Change
7World Bank. 2023. Detox Development
8JICA. 2024. Signing of Japanese ODA loan agreement with Republic of Iraq.
9The Edition. 2025. Saudi Fund extends additional loan of USD 17 million for VIA development.