Financial transfer to resolve the equity trade-off between developed and developing countries for national net-zero commitments

Over 100 countries have announced net-zero emissions (NZE) goals. Although these NZE goals may be consistent with global 2°C climate stabilization, their impacts on equity between developing and developed regions remain poorly understood. This study investigated the extent to which individual national NZE goals represent climate policies that are far from equitable, and explored potential solutions using three illustrative scenarios. The results indicate that NZE without financial support causes large macroeconomic losses in developing countries. The financial transfer of approximately USD $2.7 trillion/year to developing regions, which is equivalent to 5% of household consumption in developed regions, is sufficient to alleviate such economic burdens. If developed countries should undertake additional physical emissions reductions, the required carbon dioxide (CO2) removal will scale to 26 Gt CO2/year in the late 21st century, equivalent to more than 10% of household consumption. We conclude that financial support presents a realistic solution to the equity concern associated with the NZE commitments of developed and developing countries.