Oxfam reaction to the 2026 Bonn climate negotiations

The missing billions: Rich countries sidestep climate finance commitments at Bonn

As the 2026 Bonn climate meetings draw to a close, Oxfam Climate Policy Lead Mariana Paoli said:

"The UN negotiations have once again been derailed by rich countries' refusal to take responsibility for increasing critical public climate finance. Oxfam estimates that the commitment to triple adaptation finance would, if implemented, provide $120 billion, only around a third of the projected needs for developing countries by 2035 ($310 to $365 billion). Climate-vulnerable countries in the Global South continue to be left with insufficient resources to cope with the harmful impacts of the climate crisis.

"It is a dark irony that the world minted its first trillionaire at the very moment that rich countries were pinching pennies at Bonn. At a time when multilateralism faces an existential threat and rich polluters accelerate the path to climate breakdown, the unwillingness of rich countries to engage meaningfully is astonishing.

"Delegates continued to talk about a new global body to coordinate and accelerate a just energy transition - which gives us a glimmer of hope. However, too many important issues involving climate finance and mitigation were simply kicked down the road to COP31.

"The Turkish and Australian COP31 presidencies must put these items high on the agenda. All governments, particularly the richest and most polluting, must show their leadership in scaling up public climate finance - and do so by cutting out the influence of super-rich polluters and centring the needs of the communities who are at the forefront of the climate crisis."