Wealthy countries reached the long promised 100 billion dollar climate finance target only in 2022, two years late, while experts say developing nations need at least one trillion dollars a year by 2030.
Island and African leaders say rising seas and extreme weather are forcing impossible choices and driving migration
At the United Nations General Assembly, leaders from climate vulnerable states said current funding falls far short of need.
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine urged the developed world to meet obligations and move money to the front lines.
She said promises do not reclaim land in atoll nations.
Ghana’s President John Mahama linked migration pressures to climate stress and said many people on the move are climate refugees.
He argued that when the desert advances and towns become unlivable, families must flee to survive.
Somalia warns of budget strain while Germany cites record funding in 2024
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said climate change forces governments to make impossible financial trade offs.
He noted that droughts, floods, and rising seas are eroding livelihoods and displacing families, and that about ten percent of developing country budgets goes to climate response.
Germany reported a record 11.8 billion euros in international climate finance in 2024 and said it met its global public funding commitment.
However, leaders from Tuvalu, Comoros, Madagascar, and St. Lucia urged equitable and simplified access so funds reach communities quickly rather than getting stuck in paperwork.
United States stance draws scrutiny as China offers a new emissions cut
Speakers also questioned major powers.
They noted that the United States halted most climate finance under President Donald Trump’s second term and that he dismissed climate change as the greatest con job during his address.
China said it would cut emissions by seven to ten percent from peak by 2035.
Pacific leaders appealed for immediate action and invited world powers to visit their shores, see the damage firsthand, and commit to solutions that match the scale of the crisis.
