WORLD
COP30 in Brazil set to spotlight developing countries' climate finance needs

Baku, January 24, AZERTAC
As world leaders grapple with the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Brazil, the host of this year's COP30 global climate summit, sees an opportunity to amplify the voices of developing nations in what will be a fierce dispute over who will pay for the global transition to cleaner energy sources, according to Reuters.
During last year's summit, in Azerbaijan, a bitter fight that pitted wealthy nations against lower-income countries ended with a pledge from wealthy countries to provide $300 billion a year to support developing nations by 2035. While the target is triple what the current target of $100 billion, it is only a fraction of the $1.3 trillion per year developing countries say are needed. The fight is likely to continue this year.
“It was already hard to get to $300 billion with the United States in the negotiation,” said Andre Correa do Lago, the newly appointed president of COP30, in an interview with international media outlets on Wednesday.
He noted that, under President Joe Biden, the U.S. implemented new policies to fight climate change and worked to strengthen the role of multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank, to increase financing of projects to curb global warming. Without all that action, Correa do Lago added, increasing climate finance “will certainly be harder now.”
Despite those challenges, Correa do Lago added, developing countries are “very united” in blocking calls from wealthy nations to expand the base of countries that financially support efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts around the world.