The world’s poorest countries renewed a call for the COP30 summit to set a new goal to triple finance for them to cope with the impacts of global warming, warning that an expected decision on how to measure climate adaptation progress in Belém would be fruitless without more money.  

Since the mid-year climate talks in Bonn, the Least-Developed Countries (LDC) group has been asking for a new finance target to be set with a 2030 deadline to help them become more resilient to extreme weather and rising seas. They upped their ask in the run-up to COP30 to $120 billion a year, which is three times the current goal of at least $40 billion by 2025.

Speaking to journalists in Belem on Tuesday, ⁠Lina Yassin, a Sudanese adviser to the LDCs, said adaptation metrics alone – one of the key outcomes due at COP30 – are necessary but would not benefit vulnerable countries if they cannot fund adaptation projects.

“Indicators don’t rebuild our washed-away villages. They don’t fix our failed harvest. Indicators only show you what’s going on – so beyond indicators, we’re asking for adaptation finance,” she said. So far “we have not heard enough support for it” at COP30, she added.

On Tuesday evening, the COP30 president reiterated that adaptation is central to the success of COP30, adding that the push for an increase in resources for adaptation is “significant”.

Huge gap between funding and needs

The metrics being discussed at COP30 are seen as key to putting into practice the Global Goal on Adaptation, which was enshrined in the Paris Agreement a decade ago, but has yet to achieve much on the ground.

“We still don’t know how to achieve that goal,” Yassin said. “If you ask me about the [1.5C] temperature target, we know we’re not on track. If you ask me, how are we doing on adaptation, no one here can tell me the answer.”

A UN report issued in the run-up to COP30 said developing countries will need to spend between $310 billion and $365 billion per year on measures to adapt to climate change impacts by 2035, warning of a massive funding shortfall as wealthy governments pare back their support.

The latest estimate of developing countries’ annual climate adaptation needs outstrips current funding by at least 12 times, with rich nations providing just $26 billion in 2023, according to the annual Adaptation Gap Report.

If current trends continue, developed countries are set to miss the target to double adaptation finance by 2025 that they committed to at COP26 four years ago, UNEP’s report said.

Global South’s climate adaptation bill to top $300 billion a year by 2035: UN

On Monday, a fundraising session for the UN’s Adaptation Fund raised less than half of its minimum target of $300 million, while it has a pipeline of $700 million in unfunded projects. This marks the third year in a row the fund’s target will be missed, unless more pledges are made before the end of COP30.

Its head said the fund “faces unprecedented demand for its work, and can receive funds from a variety of sources, so we are also hopeful others will come forward in the coming days.”

Indicators seen as putting burden on vulnerable

Technical experts have been working for the past two years under the climate talks to produce a list of around 100 metrics to track efforts towards broad targets to boost climate resilience in seven areas: farming and food, water and sanitation, health, ecosystems, infrastructure, livelihoods and cultural heritage.

Those were decided at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 in a text that also included what is called the “means of implementation”, which covers finance, technical support and building countries’ ability to adapt. Rich countries have pushed back against including specific targets on funding under the Global Goal on Adaptation.

As a result, some country groups – mainly African and Arab nations – have proposed at COP30 to postpone the adoption of the proposed indicators for two years, arguing they cannot sign up to measure progress they cannot afford to make with their own resources. In addition, they say the indicators risk imposing approaches that should be decided by the countries themselves.

Comment: Global Goal on Adaptation – Weighing the cow won’t make it fatter

Harjeet Singh, a climate activist and founding director of India’s Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, said the Africa Group and other developing nations were right to draw a red line on the current draft text in Belem, which he called “a trap”.

“It shifts the burden onto developing nations to fund their own adaptation while letting historical polluters like the US, EU, Australia, Canada, and others off the hook,” he told Climate Home News.

Aichetou Seck of Senegal, a technical lead for adaptation with the LDCs, said African countries do not want to block the process, as adaptation is a key priority for them. Rather, she said, they are seeking to ensure first that they have concrete ways to make progress, including adequate finance.

How could a new target land in Belém?

One observer of the adaptation talks told Climate Home News the call for a tripling of adaptation finance could be positioned instead in the main Mutirão decision, which is likely to form the backbone of the political package due to be agreed in Belem. 

Currently, a draft version includes that as an option, together with a process to track progress towards it. But another – favoured by rich nations – only acknowledges the need to “dramatically scale up adaptation finance” without mentioning a number.

COP30 Bulletin Day 8: Draft decision draws battle lines on fossil fuel transition, finance and trade 

Some observers and negotiators say a possible compromise could involve specifying a dedicated adaptation funding target within the $300-billion-a-year UN climate finance goal agreed at COP29 last year, rather than creating a separate pledge.

“We want support from the world, because without an adaptation package, without an outcome that doesn’t just give us indicators, it also gives us money, everything we’re discussing here is symbolic,” said Yassin of Sudan. “We will go back home and nothing tomorrow will change.”

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Poorest countries appeal for more adaptation finance at COP30