Speaking to reporters Thursday in Fiji ahead of next month's COP31, Murat Kurum argued that governments should show "the same responsibility, same determination" on climate as they do on security.
His appeal lands as defense plans race ahead. NATO members agreed last year to devote at least 3.5% of GDP to core military programs, with the possibility of an additional 1.5% for related activities by 2035. Meanwhile, money for cutting emissions and building climate resilience is under pressure as some countries trim aid budgets and the US has stepped back from efforts focused on global warming.
Germany, Europe's largest economy, reduced climate spending last year and failed to meet a climate finance pledge. According to a draft reviewed by Bloomberg, the European Union cautions there is "no scope" to add climate finance commitments at COP31.
How climate spending gets framed decides how much of it actually happens. Market Briefs covers climate finance free every morning.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told the Fiji gathering that "Nations must deliver on existing finance commitments," and urged continued work toward mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries by 2035. "This is what COP31 can and must do, help convert promises into more real-world results," he said, noting that success "depends on many factors, including scaling up, speeding up, and broadening access to affordable climate finance."
Even with tight budgets, the Pre-COP meetings produced new pledges for the Pacific Resilience Facility, created last year to channel funding toward climate and disaster initiatives benefiting vulnerable countries in the region. Lynda Tabuya - Fiji's minister responsible for information, environment, and climate change - said Fiji committed $10 million and will press at COP31 to "get climate finance into the hands of the people who really need it." The United Kingdom committed $13 million, the Netherlands added $1.12 million, and both Denmark and Ireland doubled what they had previously promised. Australia, which had already pledged A$100 million (about $70 million), put forward separate proposals this week worth roughly A$10 million for clean energy initiatives in the Pacific and to strengthen infrastructure across the region.
The Pacific fund aims to boost disaster preparedness without piling on debt, but it is still short of milestones: it has yet to reach an initial goal of $500 million in commitments by year end and a longer-term aim of $1.5 billion.
With big, new climate checks unlikely, COP31 organizers are zeroing in on helping developing nations tap existing funding more easily, including in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean.
For your money, this is the signal: expect targeted financing toward resilience and clean energy projects where access improves first, rather than a sudden wave of brand-new global commitments. Where capital unlocks faster, projects can move sooner, and that tends to shape which regions and solutions gain momentum.
Defense-level urgency would mean defense-level budgets. Get the free Market Briefs daily newsletter and follow the summit.
