Developing countries face growing uncertainty over transition funding, while African nations prepare to demand a tripling of climate adaptation finance at the Turkey summit.
The European Union will not make new climate finance commitments at the upcoming COP31 conference, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said, describing the prospect of further funding for emission reductions as “dead in the water”, according to Bloomberg.
The EU has been the world’s most generous provider of climate finance for several years, but funding has become tighter as other concerns have taken the spotlight from carbon dioxide emissions.
Soaring fuel and gas prices, along with a shortage of refining capacity, have shifted the bloc’s most pressing concerns towards hydrocarbons. Addressing those pressures also requires substantial spending through direct subsidies and tax cuts to cushion the impact.
EU officials are also increasingly concerned that other wealthy countries are not contributing enough to climate finance, Bloomberg reported.
The EU and its member states provided €32.3 billion, or around $36 billion, in public climate finance to developing countries in 2025, according to official EU data. The figure was roughly €600 million higher than in 2024. The funding supports efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
Much of the money has supported countries in Africa and Asia seeking to shift from hydrocarbons to wind and solar, where governments lack sufficient funds to finance the transition on their own.
Wealthy Western countries’ approach has prompted poorer governments to present donors with what amounts to an either-or choice: either the West funds the transition, or there will be no transition.
In a recent letter to UN climate chief Simon Stiell, a group of African countries said they would demand a tripling of commitments for climate adaptation finance at COP31.
The demands are expected to cause a stir at the climate conference, which begins in Turkey on November 9.
Irina Slav wrote the report for Oilprice.com.