Bonn Climate Conference 2025: Inside the Baku to Belem Roadmap consultations on climate finance

As part of the outcome of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance — the headline issue at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last year — the “Baku to Belem Roadmap to 1.3 Trillion” was launched. The NCQG called for the provision of at least $300 billion per year of climate finance for developing countries by developed countries, with an ‘aspirational’ target of $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 to be mobilised by ‘all actors’.

A two-day presidency-led consultation on the Roadmap took place with Parties and other stakeholders in Bonn, Germany on June 18 and 19, 2025 as part of the mid-year climate meetings of the UNFCCC. With participation from Parties, multilateral institutions and civil society organisations, the event sought to gather views and opinions on the development of the Roadmap in an informal setting.

Prior to the consultations in Bonn, over 100 written submissions on the Roadmap were made by a range of stakeholders including Parties, civil society organisations, research institutions and financial actors. Only two formal submissions were made by Multilateral Development Banks (MDB).

Developing countries demand financial obligations not be absolved

Developing countries emphasised the importance of the roadmap being transparent, inclusive and credible. Several developing groups like the G77 and China, Arab Group, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and individual Parties such as Tanzania and Qatar, raised concerns that the B2B Roadmap must not shift the financial obligations of developed countries. They stressed the need to uphold Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which states that developed countries are obligated to provide climate finance to developing countries.         

On adaptation and loss and damage, countries including the Least Developed Countries (LDC), AOSIS, the Arab Group, and the Independent Alliance of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) emphasised the need to significantly increase finance, highlighting the current imbalance favouring mitigation. AILAC also emphasised that the $1.3 trillion target should be a floor, not merely an aspirational goal.

Countries like Colombia raised concerns regarding the debt trap created by climate finance offered in the form of loans at market interest rates. Such finance shrinks rather than expands fiscal space, making climate action harder, as stated by the LDCs.

Despite frustrations, developing countries provided constructive suggestions. They emphasised the need for a solution-oriented framework that charts a realistic path from ambition to delivery. Countries urged greater mobilisation of public finance through grants, concessional lending and non-debt creating instruments. Institutions like MDBs were asked to play a pivotal role in this, including through balance sheet optimisation and guarantee facilities.

AOSIS, LDCs and AILAC emphasised that the B2B Roadmap must prioritise the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and LDCs, particularly through accessible concessional finance and targeted support for adaptation and loss and damage.

The Arab Group and Costa Rica suggested tapping innovative financial instruments such as green and blue bonds, NDC support bonds, debt-for-climate swaps and first-loss capital structures to enhance climate finance mobilisation and reduce reliance on debt-based funding. There was also strong support for expanding fiscal space by the LDCs, Colombia, Uganda and Morocco, and for strengthening capacity building at the country level to ensure finance is both accessible and effective.

Developed countries outline strategies, civil society calls for equity

Developed countries commonly highlighted the importance of blended finance, private sector engagement and institutional reforms as key strategies to mobilise climate finance at scale, as well as leveraging external stakeholders such as institutional investors and businesses.

The European Union (EU), Australia and Canada reaffirmed their commitment to continue providing climate finance. The EU views the Roadmap as a means to build on existing processes and deepen initiatives already in place. Japan emphasised that issues likely to trigger negotiations among Parties should not be included in the B2B Roadmap.

A strong focus was placed on adaptation finance by the United Kingdom, with the EU and Japan encouraging initiatives to mobilise finance for vulnerable countries like LDCs and SIDS.

Civil society organisations also emphasised the importance of transparency and inclusivity of all Party and non-Party stakeholders in shaping the Roadmap. Across constituencies, a common need for concessional and grant-based finance, and concerns about over-reliance on private finance and inadequate delivery mechanisms, were raised. 

There was also emphasis on historical responsibility, with calls for the Global North to deliver non-debt public finance, especially for adaptation and loss and damage. The Local Governments and Municipal Authorities (LGMA) Constituency advocated for localising finance and empowering national banks. The Women and Gender Constituency called for tripling adaptation finance and prioritising vulnerable groups such as women, Indigenous Peoples and gender groups.

Avinash Persaud, special advisor on climate change to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank, was among the finance experts invited to the consultation. He argued that public finance alone is insufficient to scale up to $1.3 trillion per year and that the Roadmap must focus on attracting institutional investors by aligning with their needs and then reinvesting through local investor banks in existing green assets.

Road to Belem

The Presidencies of COP29 and the upcoming COP30 in Brazil will now compile a summary report from the consultations, which will be available on the UNFCCC website. The roadmap is not a negotiated outcome, but is expected to serve as a guiding framework and backbone for operationalising the NCQG and mobilising climate finance at scale.

Following the underwhelming outcome of the NCQG decision for developing countries at Baku, the B2B Roadmap marks a decisive moment for global climate finance cooperation and credibility. As UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell remarked, “We must move from principles to delivery.”