Africa: Africa's Push to Triple Adaptation Finance Left Off Official COP31 Agenda

What the report says

African countries’ effort to make a pledge on adaptation finance a formal item at the UN climate summit COP31 has been blocked from the official agenda, according to an RFI report distributed by AllAfrica. The talks are taking place in Antalya, Turkey, where the African Group of Negotiators argued that climate adaptation funding should be given dedicated treatment and a clear structure for tracking progress.

The report says wealthy countries resisted the move, and COP31 president Murat Kurum ruled that the issue could be handled under existing agenda items instead. The European Union and Britain reiterated earlier climate finance commitments, but no separate negotiating track was established to define, monitor or enforce the pledge to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035, which was agreed at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

African negotiators, led by chair Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, said they want the target placed in the summit’s cover text, the final political declaration, and want clarity on the baseline and timeline for measuring progress. Climate adviser Amos Wemanya of Power Shift Africa said the continent should not be expected to fund most of its own adaptation needs, given its low share of global emissions and high vulnerability to drought, floods and food insecurity.

The article notes that international public adaptation finance reached between $28.2 billion and $31.7 billion in 2024, but remains far below estimated needs. It also cites looming climate stresses in Southern Africa as an example of why African delegates are pressing the issue.