COP30 may see inking of key $1.3tn deal to bridge climate financing gap

A coalition of finance ministers from 35 countries, including India, has unveiled a five-point strategy to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually for climate finance, ahead of crucial negotiations at COP30 in Belem next month.

- Jayashree Nandi

The recommendations, released in Washington on October 15, call for scaling up concessional finance, reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs), boosting domestic capacity, mobilising private capital, and strengthening regulatory frameworks for climate finance.

The proposals come as the financing gap for climate action reaches alarming levels. According to the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, developing countries will need $2.4 trillion annually by 2030 and $3.3 trillion by 2035 to meet climate goals—a four to sixfold increase from current levels. Of this, $1.3 trillion per year must come from external sources by 2035.