COP30: Stiell calls for scaled-up adaptation finance, says funding lifeblood of climate action

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has called on developed countries to scale up adaptation finance to the Global South.

Speaking on Saturday at the third high-level ministerial dialogue on climate finance at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Stiell said developing countries cannot implement their climate and adaptation plans without clarity on the resources available to them, noting that predictable funding remains the “lifeblood” of global climate action.

“This meeting is not a procedural formality,” he told ministers. “It is designed to build trust by providing clarity and predictability about the resources developing countries can count on.”

Stiell noted that while global climate finance has grown since the Paris Agreement—driven by public and private flows and new partnerships—funding remains “insufficient, unreliable, and unevenly shared” even as climate impacts intensify.

He said COP30 offers a critical opportunity for developed countries to meet their pledge to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels and urged parties to triple outflows from UNFCCC climate funds by 2030.

“These are not abstract numbers,” he said.

“They determine whether small island states can protect their coastlines, whether least developed countries can adapt their agriculture, and whether emerging economies can transition without deepening inequalities.”

He called for more grants and concessional financing and for a simplification of the processes that govern access to climate funds.

Stiell also highlighted the need to tackle structural barriers such as high debt, limited fiscal space and the high cost of capital in vulnerable countries.

According to him, blended finance, guarantees and debt-for-climate swaps will play an important role in mobilising the scale of investment required.

“As the world looks to COP30 for proof that climate cooperation delivers, real finance—flowing fast and fair—is central to that proof,” he said.

“When finance flows, ambition grows. And when ambition grows, implementation follows — creating jobs, improving health, protecting communities and securing a more resilient planet for all.”

As the first week of COP wraps up, a sharp divide has emerged between negotiators from the Global North and South over adaptation indicators.

Developing countries argue that the global north is trying to shift responsibility onto them, rather than committing to the level of support required.

This report was produced with support from Sahara Group and the Kaduna state government.