Climate Finance Shortfall Threatens Global South resilience, Advocates Say
Gurugram, India – November 24, 2025 – A widening gap between the financial and structural needs of developing nations and the climate finance currently offered is hindering a just transition to a lasting future, experts warn, as preparations build for Cop30. Critics argue that framing climate finance as loan-driven obligations, rather than a shared global obligation, undermines efforts to build climate resilience in the Global south.
Nirbhay Rana, writing from Gurugram, India, asserts, “Debt cannot be the pathway to climate resilience for the global south.” He emphasizes the need for grant-based finance, accessible technology, and long-term partnerships focused on building local capacity. Rana points to India’s rapid expansion of renewable energy – exceeding the pace of historic emitters during their industrialization - as evidence of developing nations’ commitment, stating, “What we seek is not charity. We seek fairness consistent with science, history and the Paris agreement. Climate ambition must finally rest on climate justice.”
The call for equitable climate action is underscored by concerns regarding data portrayal. john Green, from London, highlights a parallel issue raised in recent Guardian articles by George Monbiot and Deepak Varuvel Dennison: the marginalization of data from non-US and non-English-speaking countries. Monbiot’s november 21 opinion piece, “There’s a catastrophic black hole in our climate data – and it’s a gift to deniers,” and Dennison’s November 18 long read, “What AI doesn’t know: we could be creating a global ‘knowledge collapse’,” both reveal how this skewing of data leads to the loss of vital local knowledge and impacts effective decision-making. Green warns that this distortion will likely worsen with increased AI usage.
These concerns come as international negotiations intensify ahead of Cop30,where securing adequate and equitable climate finance is expected to be a central point of contention. Advocates stress that a truly representative and effective response to climate change requires recognizing and correcting these systemic imbalances in both financial support and data sourcing.
