Climate Finance Gaps at COP31
Emerging markets face a $1.3 trillion annual funding gap as the UN Climate Change Conference opens in Antalya, Turkiye, according to reporting from Global Finance Magazine.
The conference, running from November 9 to 20, brought global delegations together to address emissions reductions and financial commitments. Developing nations struggle to secure adequate capital while climate impacts worsen, tanahair.net reported.
Negotiating Climate Finance Priorities
Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, stated in his opening address that the countries needing support most receive the least. Bowen serves as President of Negotiations for COP31.
“The countries most in need of climate finance are the ones receiving the least,” said Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy and President of Negotiations for the COP31, Chris Bowen.
The COP31 agenda includes over 160 items and 60 substantive negotiating mandates. Priorities include implementing the Just Transition Mechanism and fulfilling outstanding financial pledges.
Emerging Economies Face $1.3 Trillion External Finance Gap
The Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance estimates emerging economies excluding China need $3.2 trillion annually by 2035. Domestic revenues and subsidy phase-outs cover $1.9 trillion of that total, leaving the $1.3 trillion external requirement.
Multilateral roadmaps project private capital will supply about $650 billion of the external need. Multilateral development banks are expected to provide $300 billion to $400 billion, while bilateral public sources supply $80 billion to $100 billion.
Private Co-Mobilization Remains Low Despite Rising Bank Contributions
Blended finance combines public and philanthropic capital with private commercial investment to lower risk. Joan Larrea, CEO at Convergence, noted that actual private co-mobilization in lower-income nations averages $0.20 to $0.50 per public dollar.
“any headline number on blended finance obscures a large number of variables, so any generalization is going to be weak,” said Joan Larrea, CEO at Convergence.
Commercial banks increased their contribution to blended finance transactions to $7 billion in 2025, up from $4.3 billion in 2024. However, Basel III and Solvency II rules impose heavy capital charges on unrated emerging-market infrastructure debt.
Action Plans in Antalya
Turkiye’s Minister for the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, serves as COP31 President. Kurum put forward a framework created to link nations and initiatives requiring assistance with partners and organizations possessing the requisite financial resources and technological capabilities.
The 35×35 Global Electrification Pledge aims to increase electricity’s share in global final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035. Simon Stiell, who serves as UNFCCC Executive, called upon nations taking part in COP31 to transition their priorities away from simple target-setting and toward the deployment of practical solutions capable of speeding up climate action.
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