Climate finance emerges dominant issue at COP30

The COP30 summit opened in Brazil's Belem on Monday with a brief agenda dispute that was swiftly resolved before the formal opening ceremony, ‘with climate finance emerging as the dominant issue for the summit.

- Jayashree Nandi

The disagreement centred on Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates developed countries provide financial resources to assist developing nations with mitigation and adaptation.

Developing countries, particularly the G77 bloc, demanded its inclusion on the official agenda following inadequate and unpredictable climate finance flows. Developed countries, including the EU, resisted. The matter was resolved after it was agreed Article 9.1 would be discussed under Presidency consultations rather than on the formal agenda. The June Bonn climate meeting had also been delayed over the same issue.