Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the promise to keep global warming below 1.5°C is slipping away. The world has just lived through its hottest year on record, with heatwaves, floods, and wildfires devastating communities across continents. For millions already on the frontlines, especially women and girls, the cost is immediate and unjust. CARE International urges governments at COP30 to make this summit a turning point by delivering fair, grant-based climate finance, stronger adaptation support, a full fossil fuel phase-out, and a bold Gender Action Plan that drives gender equality in climate action.
This year’s Conference of Parties comes as the International Court of Justice confirms that developed countries have a legal duty to cut emissions and provide finance to developing nations. Yet climate finance remains the fault line of global action: many rich countries inflate figures, offer loans instead of grants, and cut aid when support is most needed. Without credible and equitable finance, no breakthrough on adaptation, mitigation, or loss and damage will be possible.
CARE International calls on leaders to make COP30 a People’s COP, one that delivers justice and puts resources in the hands of those most affected. CARE’s key demands include: tripling adaptation finance by 2030, adopting a well-funded Gender Action Plan to support women-led action, aligning national climate plans with a 1.5°C pathway through a fossil fuel phase-out and community-led renewables, and providing predictable, grant-based finance for loss and damage.
Marlene Achoki, Global Climate Justice Policy and Advocacy Lead
“The need for adaptation finance is immense, up to US$300 billion per year, yet current funding barely scratches the surface. COP30 must deliver a new commitment that urgently and effectively scales up support to protect women and girls from flooded homes, failed harvests, collapsing economies, widening inequality, and the risk of being pushed back into poverty. COP30 will be successful, and truly a people’s COP, when sufficient adaptation finance is provided to drive real action and implementation on the ground.”
John Nordbo, Senior Advisor on Climate Change
“Climate finance is the fault line of global climate action. Ten years after Paris, developed countries are cutting aid, cooking the climate finance books, and labelling large projects with little or no adaptation component as ‘climate finance’. Much of this so-called support comes as loans, not grants, and repayments often flow quietly back to donors. COP30 must deliver fair, public finance — not more bills for those already paying the highest price.”
Kerime van Opijnen – Policy Advisor on Gender Equality and Climate Justice
“Women and girls are leading climate solutions every day, from rebuilding livelihoods after floods to fighting deforestation and environmental destruction. Yet their leadership remains underfunded and undervalued. COP30 must adopt a bold and well-financed Gender Action Plan that ensures all women’s full, equal, and safe participation in all climate processes, and supports the women-led organisations that turn policy into progress.”
Obed Koringo – Climate Change Advisor
“COP30 must deliver on Loss and Damage. We finally have a fund, but without real money it’s just an empty vessel in the face of rising tides. As of June, pledges stood at $788 million: against needs running into hundreds of billions. That’s like trying to stop a flood using a bucket. The Fund must deliver fast, fair and accessible support to those already living in the frontlines of the realities of the crisis.”
Mrityunjoy Das – Deputy Director, Humanitarian & Resilient Futures Program
“Keeping 1.5°C alive is not an aspiration — it’s a legal and moral obligation. COP30 must deliver on that promise by driving a full fossil fuel phase-out, massively scaling up community-led renewable energy, and protecting forests and fragile ecosystems such as mangroves. It must also accelerate the green transition across high-emitting sectors and promote fair, resilient food systems that safeguard livelihoods and food security.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- CARE International’s full COP30 Position Paper is available here
- CARE International works in more than 100 countries, focusing on humanitarian response, development, climate resilience, and gender equality.
- For interviews or further information, please contact:
Monica Ellena – CARE International – Climate Justice Communication Lead
Email: ellena@careinternational.org - Phone / Signal: +44 (0)7876 277 898
