Climate Finance at COP31: Why the Same Money Dispute Returns at Every UN Climate Summit
Countries are meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, for the annual UN climate summit (COP31). The old fight over climate finance (money from rich countries to help poorer countries deal with climate change) is again a major hurdle to agreement.
Rich countries point to rising totals. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group of mostly rich countries) says climate finance reached $136.7 billion in 2024, above the $100 billion yearly target for a third year in a row.
Developing countries question how much of this is a real transfer. In 2024, loans were $68.5 billion (67%) of public climate finance and grants only $29.7 billion (29%). Loans must be paid back, so they add to the debt of poor countries.
Oxfam, an international non-profit, uses a narrower measure that discounts loans. It puts the real 2024 value at only $32.7 billion to $44.7 billion. The UN's climate finance committee says there is no common accounting method for the $100 billion goal.
The UN Environment Programme's Adaptation Gap Report 2026 says developing countries will need about $305 billion a year by 2035 to adapt to climate impacts. Developed countries gave only $28.2 billion to $31.7 billion of public adaptation money in 2024. Even tripling this by 2035, as agreed at COP30 in Brazil, would cover only 20% to 29% of the need.
India wants climate finance to be affordable, predictable and accessible. In its formal submission before the new goal was set, India asked for at least $1 trillion a year from developed countries, mainly as grants and low-cost loans.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance
The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) is the new world target for how much climate money must flow to developing countries every year. It was agreed at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. It replaced the old goal of $100 billion a year. It has two layers: a smaller core promise led by rich countries, and a much bigger, wider ambition from all sources.
The fight at COP31 is about the quality of money under the NCQG, not only its size. A headline of $300 billion or $1.3 trillion means little to a poor country if most of it comes as costly loans or private money that only flows to profitable projects. This is why India asks for finance that is mostly grants and cheap loans.
Adaptation Finance Under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement
Adaptation finance is money spent to help people cope with the climate change that is already happening or can no longer be avoided. It pays for things like drought-tolerant seeds, flood walls, early warning systems, better drainage and heat action plans. Such projects save lives and prevent losses, but they rarely earn money. So private investors avoid them, and they depend mostly on public money and grants.
Adaptation is where the gap between promises and need is widest. Coastal protection, urban drainage and heat plans earn no profit, so they cannot attract private investors. This is why developing countries at COP31 stress public grants and not just bigger headline numbers.
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC)
Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) is a basic principle of world climate law. It says every country must help protect the climate, but not every country must do the same amount. Rich countries caused most past emissions and have more money and technology, so they must do more and help poorer countries. This is the moral and legal base for climate finance.
Developing countries say climate finance is not charity but part of the CBDR-RC bargain: countries that caused more warming and have more money should help those with fewer resources. When finance comes mostly as loans or private money, developing countries see it as a weakening of this bargain.
- COP31: Antalya, Türkiye (November 2026)
- $100 billion goal: pledged 2009 (Copenhagen) for 2020; first met in 2022; OECD figure for 2024: $136.7 billion
- 2024 public climate finance: loans $68.5 billion (67%), grants $29.7 billion (29%)
- Oxfam estimate of the real 2024 value: $32.7 to $44.7 billion
- NCQG (COP29, Baku, 2024): at least $300 billion a year by 2035; wider ambition $1.3 trillion a year by 2035
- India's NCQG submission: at least $1 trillion a year, mainly grants and low-cost loans
- Adaptation need (UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2026): about $305 billion a year by 2035; 2024 public adaptation finance $28.2 to $31.7 billion
- COP30 (Belém, 2025): call to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035