An international summit on climate finance ended in Port Alden on Wednesday with a joint statement promising to “substantially increase” support for countries hit hardest by floods, droughts and rising seas. Delegations from 46 countries signed the text, but environmental groups said it contained no binding figure and no deadline.
The heads of delegation presented the statement at a crowded press conference in the harbor’s congress center, seated behind a long table lined with national flags.
What was agreed
The statement commits signatories to three main steps:
- increase public funding for climate adaptation, such as flood defenses and drought-resistant farming
- create a shared fund to help vulnerable regions rebuild after extreme weather
- report progress at a follow-up meeting in a year
The text also encourages private banks and investors to put more money into adaptation projects, which currently receive a small share of climate funding compared with clean energy.
Officials from the host government described the result as “the strongest commitment that could realistically be reached.” A senior negotiator said privately that several delegations had refused any wording that included a fixed sum.
Criticism from campaigners
Climate groups who followed the talks were less impressed.
Communities losing their homes to the sea do not need another promise to increase something by an unknown amount at an unknown time. They need money now.
Amara Nkemelu, policy director of the campaign group Fair Climate Network
Economist Henrik Solberg of Elmbridge University said the absence of a target was a missed opportunity. “Without a number, there is nothing to measure next year,” he said. “The fund is a useful idea, but an empty fund is just a bank account.”
Some positives
Not everyone was negative. Several delegates pointed to the new fund as a first step, and a group of smaller coastal states said they had secured language recognizing their particular vulnerability for the first time.
Outside the congress center, around 2,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully on the harbor front throughout the summit, calling for faster action.
What comes next
Working groups will meet over the winter to decide how the fund will be managed and who will contribute. In the National Assembly, the Green Alliance has asked the government to announce its own contribution before the end of the year.
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