COP30: The missed turn to implementation – and the coalitions moving ahead anyway
COP30 concluded with an agreement, proving that multilateralism is still alive. However, the results are underwhelming: no push to transition away from fossil fuels, no decision on deforestation, and mixed outcomes on adaptation metrics.
On climate finance, Belém failed to shift from ambition to implementation. Negotiations quickly drifted back to a battle on yet another high-level quantitative target. The decision to triple adaptation funding by 2035 disappointed many, with its distant time horizon, lack of baseline and non-binding wording. COP30 also missed the opportunity to engage with – and build consensus around – concrete measures outlined in the Baku to Belém roadmap to get to $1.3 trillion. Instead, it defaulted to launching new processes – a work programme on climate finance and a ministerial roundtable on the NCQG.
Still, outside negotiation rooms, Belém delivered tangible progress. Public development banks rose to the occasion. For example, multilateral development banks renewed their commitment to climate-smart development. The IDFC – public banks weighing $600 billion annually – confirmed their support to the “transition away from fossil fuels” while negotiators remained divided on the very same item. A large group of public and private financial actors also recognized the importance of “transformational finance” to unlock systemic climate impacts.
Belém showed that coalitions of the willing can drive progress. A good example is the expansion of the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition, which now includes 9 countries – Brazil joined as an observer.
I4CE and IDDRI published a report on the use of proceeds from such solidarity levies for development and climate action. Combining analyses of climate finance flows, an assessment of selected countries’ priorities, and a review of existing frameworks for the allocation of debt-free finance, it concludes that there is strong case for investing solidarity levy revenues on adaptation and resilience in Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States.
Coalitions of the willing are no substitute for multilateral agreements, but they can help unlock them. Ahead of COP31, and with the French presidency of the G7 in sight, I4CE will continue to work with partners to advance an ambitious implementation agenda on climate finance.
