AGN pushes for adaptation finance, GCF funding assessment at COP31

Antalya, Nov. 9, AGN – The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) has called for stronger commitments on adaptation finance and climate funding at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), saying Africa’s climate ambitions depend on the delivery of promised financial support.

The Group said an effective implementation-focused conference must translate existing climate commitments into concrete action, particularly by ensuring that developing countries received the resources needed to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and adaptation plans.

Speaking on behalf of the AGN during discussions on the adoption of the COP31 agenda, its representative said Africa contributed the least to the climate crisis but remained among the regions most exposed to its effects.

The Group called for the inclusion of three issues in the conference’s supplementary provisional agenda: the tripling of adaptation finance, dialogue on trade and climate change, and an assessment of the funding needed and available for the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

It said the proposals were based on decisions reached at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and existing arrangements between the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the GCF, and were not intended to reopen previously agreed outcomes.

On adaptation finance, the AGN said the proposed agenda item was linked to paragraph 53 of Decision 1/CMA.7, stressing the need to increase financial support to help developing countries respond to growing climate vulnerabilities.

The Group also sought discussions on trade and climate change, arguing that certain trade-related climate measures could impose additional burdens on developing economies and undermine Africa’s industrialisation efforts.

It said such measures risked shifting the cost of the global transition onto developing countries, contrary to the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), particularly Article 3.5.

The AGN said the transition to low-emission and climate-resilient development should promote shared prosperity while creating opportunities for African countries to industrialise and develop.

On the Green Climate Fund, the Group called for an assessment of the financial resources required to meet the needs of developing countries ahead of the Fund’s third replenishment.

It said the proposed discussion was consistent with Decision 5/CP.19, which provides for the COP to consider the funding needs of the Fund.

The AGN also welcomed the inclusion of agenda item 11(g) on the work programme on climate finance, including Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement, as established under Decision 1/CMA.7.

The representative said the Group had participated in the Heads of Delegation negotiations that concluded earlier that morning and expressed appreciation to developing-country groups, including the Arab Group, the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC), and the G77 and China, for supporting the proposals.

The AGN said it supported the conclusion of the negotiations and was ready to adopt the session’s agenda, emphasising that the outcome of COP31 should be balanced, ambitious and focused on delivery, with the priorities of vulnerable countries adequately reflected.

ENDS/AGN