1. A Global Response Plan to address the 1.5°C emissions gap

Right now, countries’ new climate pledges — their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — still fall far short of what’s needed to keep global warming below 1.5°C. If governments don’t step up, the world is on track to blow past this critical limit, with devastating consequences for Australia, the Pacific, and the entire planet. We can’t wait for another review cycle — COP30 must deliver a strong, credible Global Response Plan that drives urgent action.

To kickstart this, world leaders at the start of COP30 need to send a clear message: the energy transition is happening, fossil fuels are on the way out, and closing the emissions gap is non-negotiable.

2. Protect Forests and Biodiversity

Forests are vital for life and climate stability — yet global pledges to protect them are fragmented and weak. COP30 must deliver a five-year Forest Action Plan to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 and bring together all international efforts under one clear roadmap.

Biodiversity and climate are two sides of the same crisis. Addressing one without the other risks harm. COP30 must unite the three Rio Conventions on climate, biodiversity, and desertification so nature and people thrive together.

3. Make Polluters Pay and Fund Climate Action

A lack of finance is blocking progress. COP30 must create a strong accountability plan for the new global climate finance goal — starting with US$300 billion and scaling to US$1.3 trillion — ensuring funds reach First Nations, local communities, and vulnerable nations. Governments must back polluter-pays reforms so big emitters fund real climate solutions, not greenwash.

4. Towards a Pacific-Led COP31

A Pacific COP is a historic opportunity for bold climate leadership. Australia must ensure Pacific voices shape every decision — from closing the 1.5°C gap to phasing out fossil fuels and securing fair finance.

COP31 must also deliver a fast, fair fossil fuel phase-out — turning words into concrete action and signalling the end of coal, oil, and gas.

Why COP30 is critical for Australia and the Pacific

Developing countries hit by extreme weather, rising seas and other climate change impacts have been asked to submit proposals for support from the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) for the first time, three years after its birth at COP27 in Egypt.

Under the debut call for proposals launched at COP30 in Belém, the fund’s board said $250 million would be available for projects seeking to address a wide range of climate-related losses – from damaged infrastructure to the loss of cultural heritage, or community displacement.

Announcing the launch of the fund’s activities, FRLD Co-Chair Jean-Christophe Donnellier said the initial call for funding requests would help “test, learn and shape the fund’s long-term model”. Fellow Co-Chair Richard Sherman said it “sends an important signal to developing countries that support is available”.

Countries will be able to submit their proposals starting in mid-December for six months through to mid-June, with funding approvals beginning in July next year.

Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries Group at the climate talks, hailed the call for proposals as “a practical step toward justice, long awaited by communities on the frontlines”, adding that the loss and damage fund “must now deliver fast, simple and accessible support”.

Demand set to outpace resources

Activists fear that could be difficult, however. They say the fund is badly short of resources and will not be able to meet the enormous needs of developing countries.

By 2030, they could require $200 billion-$400 billion a year to address loss and damage caused by storms, droughts, flooding, extreme heat and rising seas made worse by climate change, according to an Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance.

However, developed countries have only pledged $788 million, signed commitments for over $560 million, and actually transferred less than $400 million of that total.

Tax luxury air travel to fund adaptation and loss and damage

Climate activist Harjeet Singh, founding director of India’s Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, said that as climate impacts wreak havoc on countries including the Philippines and Jamaica – where Hurricane Melissa is estimated to have caused up to $7 billion in loss and damage – the FRLD “is starting with a fraction of the scale required”.

Singh said the operationalisation of the fund three years after it was agreed showed it had failed to function as a rapid response mechanism.

He called for the fund to correct its course to match “the scale of the crisis, not the scale of political convenience”.

“The countries and communities facing the worst consequences – those who had no role in causing this crisis – deserve more than an empty shell. This is not climate justice,” Singh said.

Acknowledging the need for more resources to meet the vast scale of need on the ground, Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, the FRLD’s executive director, said the fund will keep working “to mobilise additional resources to support our long-term ambitions”.

Rising call for L&D support in climate plans

Demands for the fund to expand support are reflected in the national climate plans (NDCs) submitted by developing countries to the UN climate body in the run-up to COP30.

South Africa, Vanuatu, Mauritius and Liberia are among those that have laid out demands for loss and damage support from the FRLD, emphasising that climate impacts in their countries have exceeded the limit to which they can adapt.

South Africa – which suffers prolonged droughts, destructive floods and heatwaves – said climate change is already causing “irreplaceable loss”, damaging cultural heritage sites and hurting Indigenous knowledge systems. It is also shrinking farmland, hitting economic growth and worsening health outcomes, including more heat-related illness and deaths, the country said in its NDC.

With support from the FRLD, South Africa plans to improve how the country records and understands the full impact of climate disasters, including collecting detailed information on who is affected, with particular consideration for women and marginalised groups, so that relief and rebuilding programmes can be more effectively targeted, its NDC said.

Climate shocks and volatile currencies hike debt burdens

For Mauritius, climate-related disasters in 2024 caused losses equivalent to 0.07% of gross domestic product (GDP), and the country plans to seek support from the FRLD for recovery and disaster response systems in sectors including agriculture, fishing, housing and health.

The island country said it planned to use the resources to implement a Climate Compensation Fund mechanism to compensate for loss and damage in terms of personal belongings, loss of lives and inability to work due to climate-related disasters. It also plans to improve the country’s disaster response capacity by equipping emergency relief centres with food and other vital supplies.

The inclusion of loss and damage in countries’ NDCs “makes it clear that there is a cost, which must be covered”, said Mattias Söderberg, global climate lead at DanChurchAid, a Danish NGO.

“We can decide if we want to invest in [emissions] mitigation and adaptation, but when it comes to loss and damage, there is no option. When climate-related disasters happen, communities will have to respond,” he added.

The post Climate-hit nations hail loss and damage fund’s debut call for proposals appeared first on Climate Home News.

Climate-hit nations hail loss and damage fund’s debut call for proposals

Two days into COP30, the world’s most populous country and third-biggest emitter – India – has yet to announce its 2035 NDC emissions target. Of the G20 major economies, only India and Saudi Arabia have still not done so.

The delay has confounded the pre-summit expectations of the UN and Indian media. Citing government sources, the Indian Express and The Hindu separately reported back in September that it would be announced “during, or just ahead of” COP30.

The government of India – which was enraged by the ending of the last COP where it fiercely rejected the new climate finance goal – has so far had a low-profile at this one.

With local elections going on in Bihar, the country’s speech at the leaders’ summit was delivered not by the prime minister or even a minister but by the country’s ambassador to Brazil.

He announced nothing new of substance – other than joining the Tropical Forest Forever Facility as an observer – but criticised developed countries for depleting the carbon budget while developing countries lead the way in taking “decisive climate action”.

…but Mexico and Korea land new goals

In contrast, Mexico’s environment minister announced in Belém that the country will aim to cut emissions by up to 50% by 2035 compared to a business-as-usual scenario.

For the first time, the oil-producing nation has set a limit on absolute emissions of 365 million-404 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035. It also targets – conditional on international support – a lower level of 332-363 million tonnes by the same year.

According to a recent UN report, the country’s current policies will keep emissions rising and Mexico’s 2030 target allows them to do so until at least 2030 before they start coming down to reach net zero by 2050.

In South Korea, the government on Tuesday announced a target to reduce emissions 53-61% from 2018 levels by 2035. The country’s emissions peaked around 2018 and have started heading slowly downward. It had earlier promised a 40% cut by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.

The new 2035 target is more ambitious than two scenarios proposed just a few days ago by the environment ministry. However, sectoral targets for industry are less ambitious than the total, which is seen as a response to pressure from energy-intensive industries.

Climate minister Kim Sung-whan told a press briefing that higher ambition for manufacturing was not possible “as too few investments have been made in the past to suddenly decarbonise manufacturing industries by a significant amount”.

Gahee Han, from Korean NGO Solutions For Our Climate, said the government would aim for the lower end of the range – 53% – which “falls far short of what is needed”. She called for the government to target at least the upper level of 61%.

The post COP30 Bulletin Day 2: India’s targets missing but Korea and Mexico make pledges appeared first on Climate Home News.

COP30 Bulletin Day 2: India’s targets missing but Korea and Mexico make pledges