Finance at SB62: Building momentum on Article 2.1c ahead of COP 30

While the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) dominated recent years’ finance negotiations, other finance processes will continue at SB 62 and come to a head at COP 30. The most important is the Sharm el-Sheikh Dialogue (SeSD) on Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement and its relationship with Article 9 .

Article 2.1c is one of the three long term goals of the Paris Agreement along with limiting global temperature rise (Article 2.1a) and building resilience to climate change (Article 2.1b). It is the goal of “Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.”  Parties have discussed its scope and implementation through twice-yearly workshops under the SeSD since COP 27. The dialogue concludes this year, and Parties will decide on a way forward at COP 30.

The SeSD has been the only space in the UN climate negotiations with a specific focus on Article 2.1c. At COP 30, Parties have an opportunity to go beyond the open-ended workshops of the SeSD and begin substantive negotiations to facilitate effective and equitable action towards achieving Article 2.1c. This is important as Parties’ national adaptation plans (NAPs) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs) will only be achieved if public and private sector finance flows are aligned with them – both globally and in national contexts. With fossil fuel investments increasing and the mitigation and adaptation implementation gaps growing, it is critical that Article 2.1c receives adequate attention.

As with everything important, progress on Article 2.1c will be challenging. Aligning finance flows with climate goals requires shifts in regulatory frameworks, investment patterns, and subsidy structures that challenge entrenched interests. Some countries fear implications for their development strategies or fossil fuel sectors, while others worry it could shift focus away from delivering public finance under Article 9 of the Paris Agreement. In the spirit of the “implementation COP,” Parties need to build trust in Bonn to unlock a forward agenda in Belém that is both ambitious and fair.

Efforts to achieve Article 2.1c are complementary to and do not substitute for climate finance for developing countries under Article 9. This was established in the SeSD but is important to continue emphasising given current global headwinds to climate and development finance. It will also be important to clarify how the mandates on Article 2.1c and the Baku to Belem Roadmap to 1.3 trillion overlap and differ.

The first SeSD workshop of 2025 will be held 17-18 June at the Bonn World Conference Centre. It will be an opportunity for civil society to understand and influence how Parties are thinking about the critical decision to be made at COP 30. With the NCQG now in place, it may prove to be the most consequential finance negotiation track in Belém.