COGGS Contents Team
The thirtieth Conference of the Parties (COP30), convened in Belém, Brazil, placed the financial and ethical demands of the Global South (Emerging Markets and Developing Countries, or EMDEs) at the core of the global climate agenda. The necessity of new financial mechanisms, and the crucial role of equity were among the top take aways from COP30.
With the theme, “Building the Financial and Ethical Foundations for a Just Transition”, COP30 become a defining moment for the Global South to assert leadership amid rising climate and political heat. With the U.S. under President Trump turning inward and the EU distracted by internal strains, Global South actors like Brazil, India, South Africa and China are filling the vacuum with a more equitable climate agenda. More from the south are joining the league for a greater cause. COP30 has focused on climate finance, adaptation and a just transition, with Global South nations pressing Western economies to honour commitments on funding and loss-and-damage. Initiatives such as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility and proposed exclusion zones for sensitive ecosystems underscore their push to protect biodiversity while advancing clean energy.
Strengthened South–South cooperation, new plurilateral coalitions and calls for coordinated fossil-fuel phase-out plans all signal a big shift in climate politics. COP30 marks a turning point where the Global South is not just demanding climate justice but demonstrating its capacity to lead—if promised financial and technological support is finally delivered.
I. The Critical Finance Gap: A Question of Survival
The fundamental perspective driving COP30’s outcomes is the recognition that without massive financial mobilization, the climate goals of the Paris Agreement will not be met, and for many vulnerable nations, access to funds is “a matter of survival”.
Extreme Financial Disparity While global climate finance flows reached USD 1 trillion in 2023, the vast majority bypasses the Global South. The core finding of the COP30 Circle of Finance Ministers’ report is highly indicative of this crisis: “Global climate finance flows for all countries hit an all-time high of USD 1 trillion in 2023, more than doubling in three years, but only around 10% goes to Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs), while less than 5% goes to adaptation. The lower bound of global estimated climate finance needs – USD 6 trillion – is still 3 times more than current flows” (source: page 9/ COP30 Circle of Finance Minister’s report )
Scale of EMDE Needs The developed world must massively scale up financial flows to EMDEs. EMDEs require investment of at least USD 2.4 trillion per year by 2030 and USD 3.3 trillion per year by 2035 to meet their needs for clean energy, adaptation, loss and damage response, natural capital, and a just transition.
Concrete Need: Adaptation The adaptation finance gap is stark: global adaptation needs are estimated at USD 215–387 billion annually by 2030, yet international public flows reached only USD 28 billion in 2022.
COP30 Circle of Finance Ministers Report_FinalII. New Financial Architecture for Implementation
COP30 focused on creating concrete mechanisms to ensure finance flows are directed “quickly, transparently and fairly” to those most in need.
Baku-to-Belém Roadmap The Roadmap is positioned as a collective pathway for scaling climate finance for developing countries from all sources through 2035. The goal is to unlock the $1.3 trillion annually required. The COP30 Presidency stressed that delivering this ambition hinges on coordinated reforms across five priority action areas, including MDB mandates and domestic investment frameworks.
Concrete Mechanism: Country Platforms Brazil and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) strengthened investment architecture through new Country Platforms and a Country Platform Hub. These platforms are a major step towards aligning global support and investments with national climate priorities.
[Context: These platforms help countries integrate proposed climate plans into broader economic frameworks, and 13 countries released plans to develop them through the GCF readiness program. GCF Executive Director Mafalda Duarte noted that national platforms represent a strategic opportunity to bring together government, the private sector, and development partners to “identify priority policies and investments, as well as align public and private, international, and domestic financing”.]
III. Equity and Justice through Solidarity Levies and Local Recognition
The Global South nations emphasized that finance must be fair and debt-avoiding, reflecting the “polluter-pays principle”.
Concrete Mechanism: Solidarity Levies Leaders reaffirmed the growing global momentum behind solidarity levies as an essential tool for generating fair, more predictable, and debt-averting climate finance.
[Context: These levies target high-emitting, undertaxed sectors such as aviation, shipping, financial transactions, and cryptocurrencies, mobilizing concessional resources for adaptation, resilience, and loss-and-damage. The Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition expanded to include countries like Benin, Nigeria, Fiji, and Vanuatu.]
Laurence Tubiana, COP30 Special Envoy to Europe, stated: “The launch of the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition proves that solidarity levies can move from ideas to reality. This is only the first step. Now I call on more countries to join us at COP30 and turn this momentum into lasting global change”.
Inseparability of Justice and Action UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock stressed that “Climate action and social justice are inseparable,” noting how climate instability drives social crises: “Climate insecurity fuels hunger and poverty, poverty drives migration and conflict; and conflict, in turn, deepens poverty and deters investment”.
Local Demands: Indigenous Leadership Indigenous leaders attending the COP, including Chief Raoni, called for protection of standing forests and recognition of Indigenous leadership. They stressed that commitments on climate finance “hold meaning only when they translate into the protection of standing forests and the recognition of Indigenous leadership”.
IV . Climate Action as an Engine for Global South Growth
COP30 framed investment in the climate transition not as a cost, but as an opportunity for sustainable growth, offering tangible benefits for the Global South economy and population.
Economic Opportunity: Studies suggest that boosting green investment rates by 3–5% in EMDCs can “spur global growth, strengthen energy security dependence, and unlock millions of decent jobs”. Accelerated climate action is viewed as the foundation for a new era of sustainable, inclusive growth.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell underscored this economic perspective: “When finance flows, ambition grows,” enabling implementation that creates jobs, lowers the cost of living, improves health outcomes, protects communities and secures a more resilient, prosperous planet for all.
The Cost of Inaction: The cost of delaying action is enormous, disproportionately affecting developing objectives. Long-term scenarios suggest that under current climate policies, global GDP could be up to 15% lower by 2050 compared to a world without climate change. Climate-related disasters are already causing severe economic losses, reaching USD 320 billion globally in 2024.
