UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres today said that developed countries, including the UK and nations in the EU, are ready to engage on the topic of climate finance, on the condition that it is balanced with progress on actions to cut emissions and fossil fuels.
Developing countries are calling for adaptation finance provided by developed nations to reach a minimum of $120bn/yr by 2030, up from a goal of $40bn this year. The topic is a point of contention in the Cop 30 negotiations. Adaptation refers to adjusting to the effects of climate change.
Developed countries so far refuse to move beyond the public finance pledge to developing nations of $300bn/yr by 2035 made last year at Cop 29. But some have signalled that there could be room for adjustments within that goal.
"I can see it is possible and desirable to triple adaptation finance by 2030," Guterres said today. He added that he hopes for a compromise, whereby developed countries accept to engage on adaptation, while their concerns on mitigation are also met. Both are "legitimate concerns", he said.
The transition away from fossil fuels has at Cop 30 again emerged as a key topic, after 80 countries — including developed and developing nations — called for a roadmap to outline how this could be achieved. But the call is facing some resistance, mainly from some economies heavily reliant on hydrocarbon production, and from some countries seeking a more ambitious outcome on adaptation.
Guterres said that the 1.5°C temperature limit of the Paris Agreement must be the "only red line", adding that current climate plans put the world on a pathway to warming of more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. "That is a death sentence to many," he said.
This was echoed by representatives of two groups of countries most vulnerable to climate change today — UN-designated small islands developing states (Sids) and least developed countries (LDCs).
"If we go above 1.5°C we are doomed," Evans Njewa, chief environment officer at Malawi's climate ministry said. Njewa chairs the LDC group. Sids and LDCs are pushing for priority for adaptation finance, given the countries' exposure to the effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels and extreme drought. The EU yesterday suggested that more money should reach these countries.
The Sids acknowledged the "challenging domestic environment" some "donor countries" are facing. "That is something we need to listen to," the group's representative Ilana Seid, permanent representative of Palau to the UN, said. Several major donors have cut international aid programmes, which encompass climate finance, in recent months.
The Cop 30 presidency is due to present a new package of draft texts today, including the main decision, which could potentially include roadmaps for moving away from fossil fuels and ending deforestation, as well as progress on adaptation. Latin American countries have called for clearer indicators for measuring and addressing adaptation.
The presidency has taken a "shuttle diplomacy" approach yesterday and today to get a deal over the line, delegates said. But some have criticised the approach, saying that it lacks transparency.
"It's not quite the Mutirao experience", associate director of policy at non-profit 350 Andreas Sieber told Argus. Mutirao, used by the Cop 30 presidency to inspire progress and engagement, means collective mobilisation in Portuguese.
