\n<\/p>\n
Urgent pleas for cash from poor \u200bnations most exposed to the kind of climate-related disasters that have marked this year risk meeting a sluggish response at Turkiye\u2019s COP31 talks as Western governments put \u200cnational security and living costs first.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, rich countries agreed at UN climate talks they would triple \u200bclimate funding for poorer countries to $300 billion per year by 2035 versus a previous 2020 target. Also by 2035, financing \u2060from all public and private sources combined would be $1.3 trillion annually.<\/p>\n
The rich countries met their 2020 target two years late.<\/p>\n
Also Read | Why climate finance remains a recurring flashpoint at UN summits<\/a><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n Since then, climate action has slipped down the political agenda for Western governments as U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn international funding, while wars in Ukraine and West Asia have added to inflationary \u200cpressures and the need to spend on security.<\/p>\n Vulnerable small island nations say the cash they need to repair damage and to guard against future climate-related crises is again arriving too slowly and their own budgets have shrunk.<\/p>\n \u201cLike many small island \u200cdeveloping states, we remain in a perpetual climate disaster recovery mode,\u201d Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale told the conference. \u201cWe cannot build resilience \u200cwhile \u2060our fiscal space erodes.\u201d<\/p>\n Even when money is available, technical hurdles set by lenders can stretch the administrative capacity of \u2060small states.<\/p>\n For many developed nations, facing international and domestic unrest as citizens protest against the rising cost of living, their focus has narrowed.<\/p>\n Britain, which has sought to be a leader in addressing climate change, said in July savings made from switching some climate finance contributions from grants to loans would be used to help fund a cap on \u200bdomestic bus fares.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, defence spending has climbed significantly.<\/p>\n The Stockholm \u200cInternational Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated in April that world military expenditure reached $2.89 trillion in 2025, up 2.9% in real terms from 2024.<\/p>\n Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said military defence ultimately was the smaller concern.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are told there is no money, but as spending on war grows, the greatest security threat we face remains underfunded. I appeal to you: Find money for life, not death,\u201d she said \u200cin her speech to the conference in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya on Wednesday (November 11, 2026).<\/p>\n