UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday that tripling adaptation funding for vulnerable countries would still meet less than a third of what they need. He spoke at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, where finance dominated the day’s talks, according to UN News.
“Even tripling adaptation finance would meet less than 30 per cent of what is needed,” Guterres told journalists at his final COP press conference as Secretary-General. He leaves office at the end of the year. Adaptation finance pays for steps that help countries cope with climate impacts.
Guterres warned that climate disasters are erasing decades of development gains and pushing vulnerable countries deeper into debt. He said he met the heads of international climate funds earlier Friday and urged them to cut the bureaucracy that makes aid hard to obtain, particularly for countries with limited resources. He also questioned the fairness of a global financial system designed after the Second World War, when many developing countries had little say in shaping it. Changing that system, he argued, could help unlock more funding.
Simon Stiell, the UN climate chief, told a ministerial meeting that many developing countries are trapped in a loop of debt, disaster and high capital costs. “Climate finance must help countries break free,” he said.
Under existing agreements, developed countries are expected to lead efforts to mobilize at least $300 billion a year for developing nations by 2035. That sum is part of a broader $1.3 trillion goal. An assessment highlighted at COP31 suggests that, on current trends, annual climate finance could fall $840 billion short of the larger target.
Development finance institutions from Britain, Norway and Canada announced plans on Friday to mobilize $10 billion for climate projects in emerging markets by 2030. UN News did not say how much each institution would contribute.
As reported on Nov. 4, the UN Environment Programme said tripling international public adaptation finance would cover at most 29% of adaptation needs in developing countries.
Guterres also argued that fossil fuel companies should be taxed on their extraordinary profits to help people suffering from a crisis they did little to cause. He made the comments at a gathering where civil society representatives bid him farewell at his last climate summit as Secretary-General. UN News said the event included a “Make Polluters Pay” award and a standing ovation.
Other speakers raised related issues. Kaveh Zahedi of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization told UN News that only around 5% of climate-related development finance goes to agriculture, and that the share is declining. Sinja Buri of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security described parametric insurance, which pays out when set conditions such as wind speed or rainfall are reached. UN News said the program operates across eight Pacific countries, with tens of thousands of people benefiting so far.
In the negotiations, the COP31 Presidency circulated a first outline of a possible political declaration. Climate finance and fossil fuels remain among the key unresolved issues, according to UN News. Countries disagree on how to measure progress toward tripling adaptation funding by 2035, including which baseline to use. Developing countries want stronger commitments from wealthy nations, while others favor mobilizing private investment. Negotiators also remain divided on predictable funding and assistance for vulnerable communities under the loss and damage issue.