As the climate change summit COP30 unfolds in Belém, Brazil, it is clear that climate finance stands at a crossroads. Rising global temperatures, widening inequality and unsustainable debt burdens in developing countries have converged into a single reality: the question is no longer whether massive resource mobilisation is needed, but how, for whom, and toward what ends.
From a Global South perspective, three reflections are essential: the need to link climate finance to development, the importance of confronting debt and fiscal myths, and the opportunity to rethink the economic model itself.
First, climate finance must be tied to a clear development strategy. Too often in climate discussions and even negotiations, development is treated as secondary – or even as something undesirable. This view is neither realistic nor fair, particularly for developing countries where poverty reduction, job creation, and social stability remain urgent priorities.
