Urgent action is required to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. The transition to a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future will require action at all levels across the world. It will also require all forms of finance. This paper highlights the main issues related to public climate finance that have been raised through extensive consultations by the incoming COP26 Presidency and sets out initial steps for the international community to address them. In doing so, it complements COP26's related work on private climate finance.