Beijing calls for actionable climate finance road maps

The 31st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP31, should prepare road maps for developed countries to meet the goal of providing $300 billion annually in climate finance by 2035 and to fulfill their commitment to triple adaptation finance, a senior Chinese official said.

Li Gao, vice-minister of ecology and environment, made the remarks at a news conference held on Wednesday by the State Council Information Office in Beijing, where he outlined China's positions on and expectations for COP31.

The UN conference should strive to make positive progress on climate finance, which remains crucial to helping developing countries implement their climate commitments, Li said.

COP31 is scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkiye, from Nov 9 to 20.

At COP29, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, stakeholders agreed on a new collective quantified goal of mobilizing at least $300 billion annually for climate action in developing countries by 2035, with developed countries taking the lead.

At COP30 in Belem, Brazil, stakeholders called for efforts to triple adaptation finance from the 2025 level by 2035, urging developed nations to increase their collective provision of adaptation finance to developing nations.

Li, the vice-minister, said that China believes COP31 should focus on translating these commitments into action. "The focus of global climate governance has shifted from negotiating rules to implementing them," he said.

This year's conference should address long-standing challenges, including inadequate emissions reduction efforts and insufficient financial support from developed countries, as well as emerging challenges posed by unilateralism and protectionism, Li said.

The multilateral endeavor to combat climate change should provide support and create favorable conditions for all parties, particularly developing countries, to implement their nationally determined contributions and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, he added.

Li emphasized that COP31 should first consolidate a political consensus on solidarity and cooperation in addressing climate change. It should send a clear political signal that the global green and low-carbon transition is irreversible, he said.

Establishing an international mechanism for a fair transition will be another important issue at COP31, Li said. Such a mechanism should help countries, particularly developing nations, overcome the social and economic difficulties arising from the transition and help narrow the development gap between the Global North and the Global South, he said.

Lin Boqiang, director of Xiamen University's China Center for Energy Economics Research, pointed out that climate finance remains a critical bottleneck in global efforts to reduce emissions.

"The core problem is that developed countries have yet to fulfill their financing responsibilities," Lin said, noting that financial support, when available, has largely taken the form of loans rather than grants. Developing countries need more grant-based support to address their climate challenges, he added.

COP31 should focus on translating the $300 billion climate finance goal and the commitment to triple adaptation finance into actionable road maps, backed by effective monitoring mechanisms, Lin said.

Achieving these goals would require reforms to the multilateral financial system, greater support for technology transfer and efforts to reduce unilateral trade barriers, he added.