'Climate finance is the lifeblood of climate action': Simon Stiell at COP30

Below are remarks delivered by UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell at the third High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on climate finance under the CMA at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on Saturday 15 November 2025.

Excellencies,

Honourable Ministers,

Colleagues, dear Friends,

Climate finance is the lifeblood of climate action.

It is what turns plans into progress, and ambition into implementation.

And nowhere is its importance clearer than at this meeting, which is not a procedural formality. It is designed to build trust - by providing clarity and predictability about the resources that developing countries can count on to deliver their national climate and adaptation plans.

That trust remains essential.

Without it, implementation slows, ambition falters, and progress for all becomes much, much harder.

Since Paris, we have come a long way.

Climate cooperation is working.

Public and private flows of climate finance are growing.

New partnerships are being forged.

And we are seeing billions of dollars flowing into clean energy, resilience, and just transitions across the world.

But the truth is, we are not far enough down that road - climate finance is not yet sufficient or reliable enough, and it is not shared widely or fairly enough.

We know the scale of the challenge: climate impacts are growing - but the adaptation finance gap remains far too wide.

At the same time, debt burdens are rising; and far too many of the most vulnerable countries still struggle to access even the resources that have already been pledged.

So, this is an important moment. Developed country Parties were urged to have at least doubled their collective adaptation finance from 2019 levels by this year.

A good way to meet this target and those we agreed in Baku last year is to triple outflows from UNFCCC climate funds by 2030.

The Adaptation Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Fund are key as they play an important role in scaling up finance for least developed countries and small island developing states.

Ultimately, these are not abstract numbers. They are lifelines.

They determine whether small island states can protect their coastlines.

Whether least developed countries can adapt their agriculture to survive drought.

Whether emerging economies can transition away from fossil fuels without creating new inequalities.

This dialogue can send the clearest signal: that Parties are committed not only to scaling up finance, but to making it more accessible, more predictable, and more aligned with national priorities.

That means stepping up public finance - through grants, concessional resources, and non-debt-creating instruments.

It means simplifying access and reducing transaction costs so that finance reaches those who need it the most.

It means coordinated action to address systemic challenges - high debt, high costs of capital, limited fiscal space - and to make innovative use of equity, guarantees, and debt-for-climate swaps.

And it means expanding blended finance and risk-sharing mechanisms that can multiply private investment for climate-resilient, low-emission growth.

I know that resources are constrained in every part of the world, and delivery isn't easy.

But climate finance is not charity - it's smart economics.

Because climate action, underpinned by climate finance, is the growth story of the 21^st century.

And as you prepare for your next phase of Article 9.5 work, I urge you to make the outcomes as clear and actionable as possible - so that they offer real forward visibility to developing countries, and demonstrate tangible progress on the delivery of finance.

Because good reporting builds credibility; credibility builds trust; every signal of trust builds more confidence in the process - enabling far greater implementation within the real economy.

So Honourable Ministers,

At COP30, the world is looking for proof that climate cooperation delivers.

Real finance, flowing fast and fair, is central to that proof.

Because when finance flows, ambition grows.

And when ambition grows, implementation flows - creating jobs, easing the cost of living, improving health, protecting communities, and securing a prosperous, more resilient planet for all.

So let us use this dialogue to recommit to the shared purpose that brought us to Paris a decade ago.

Let us show - through the predictability and transparency of climate finance - that we are serious about delivering for people and for the planet, unlocking the vast benefits of climate action for everyone, everywhere.

I thank you.