The Guardian’s view on UN climate talks: They reveal how little time remains | Editorial

TThis year’s UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil, ended without significant progress. The text of the final agreement lacked an agreement that could be diverted from Fossil fuelsCrucial funding was delayed, and the Mutirao resolution did not include a roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation. But the multilateral system at COP 30 held together at a point where its collapse seemed imminent. This should serve as a warning: next year’s Conference of the Parties must reach a better deal between the rich and the poor world.

Developing countries are far from united on some issues. On rare earth metals China sees any step as targeting its hegemony, while Africa sees it as necessary for governance. elsewhere Oil countries They did not support Colombia’s call to phase out fossil fuels. However, the Global South is coalescing around a simple principle: its countries must be equipped to survive a climate emergency they did not cause. This means money for construction flood Defences, making agricultural systems resilient, coastal protection, and rebuilding after disasters. They also require upfront financing for the transition to clean and green economic growth.

But climate finance is a hard sell in the Global North. Right-wing populists on Western railways are against spending money climate And foreigners. Any issue that combines the two becomes a difficult political arena. Then there is broader geopolitics – where thorny confrontations have become the norm. For parts of the rich world, Clean manufacturing in the global south It’s not a priority – it’s an economic threat.

Donald Trump did not send a team to Brazil, the first time since 1995 that America was not officially there Actress At the annual climate summit this may not have been entirely unwelcome. The United States, which has the largest climate debt in the world, is already suffering Forbidden Meaningful financing deals for years – and resettlement The agenda is designed to keep key industries at home. This is not entirely devoid of logic, as some analysts say China It is evidence that the West has reason to fear empowering poor countries too quickly.

But such a narrow worldview will only hinder progress. As Evans Njoa, Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, said, male Frankly, after the Cop30 ended, Belem lacked ambition. For him, the world’s most vulnerable countries came looking for protection; They left with promises postponed. However, the disappointment we feel today is a catalyst for more action tomorrow. LDCs are looking to Cop31 in Türkiye, and eventually to Cop32 in Ethiopia, to change minds.

United Nations this year Adaptation report It could not be clearer: the scale of the task ahead of us is enormous. The report indicates that developing countries need more than $310 billion annually by 2035 – but they received only $26 billion in 2023, down from $28 billion the previous year. Needs are rising faster than funding. The United Nations warns that without a radical course correction, the poorest countries will remain Exposed to to heat waves, forest fires and floods.

The urgency of the crisis explains why African negotiators They strongly insist that funding for adaptation should come from the state, preferably in the form of a grant. They say that imagining otherwise is an illusion. Private financing currently represents only 5% of cash adaptation funds, most of which are charitable. Private capital will not build sea walls, restore mangroves, or protect subsistence farmers. The Cop30 conference highlighted a simple truth: only by moving beyond symbolism and self-interest will the world be able to secure its future.

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