Bonn Climate Talks Expose Deep Divides Over Climate Finance Obligations

The first week of the Bonn Climate Change Conference 2026 saw climate finance dominate negotiations across multiple tracks, with developing countries and civil society warning that declining public finance and weak fund replenishment could undermine global climate action. Key discussions on the new Climate Finance Work Programme, the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion and the Veredas Dialogue revealed persistent divisions over obligations, equity and implementation.

Three sessions of the new Climate Finance Work Programme on Article 9 concluded in Bonn, but opened amid procedural disagreements over its place on the COP31 agenda. The Group of 77 and China, representing more than 130 developing countries, expressed deep disappointment that the programme had not been included in the draft CMA8 agenda for COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, warning the process risked becoming a talk shop without a clear pathway for continuation. Despite these concerns, parties engaged in party-only dialogues, multi-stakeholder sessions and non-party stakeholder discussions, revealing a persistent divide over whether the programme should focus on developed-country obligations under Article 9.1 or broader climate finance issues.

Discussions on the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion continued, with the COP29 and COP30 Presidencies jointly steering the process. The roadmap emerged from a COP29 agreement under which developed countries committed to $300 billion per year for developing nations alongside an aspirational target of at least $1.3 trillion annually by 2035. Saudi Arabia, speaking for the Arab Group, described the roadmap report as a menu of options rather than a detailed plan, a view echoed across developing country groupings. Speakers flagged declining climate finance across UNFCCC funds, with the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund all lacking adequate replenishment.

The first Veredas Dialogue, co-chaired by South Africa and the Netherlands, held two days of discussions on case studies and practical implementation of Article 2.1(c) of the Paris Agreement, which calls for finance flows to align with low-emission and climate-resilient development. Civil society participants emphasised that implementation discussions must remain grounded in equity and developed-country obligations, warning against interpretations that could dilute climate finance commitments. With the Addis COP expected to focus on adaptation and attention shifting to the fossil fuel transition, finance remains the central connecting thread across all negotiating tracks ahead of COP31.

Key figure — $1.3 trillion aspirational annual climate finance target by 2035