From Baku to Belém: The Climate Finance Roadmap to COP 30
From Baku to Belém: The Climate Finance Roadmap to COP 30
On 4 March 2025, at Warwick Business School London, The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG, the event took place, featuring leading experts and negotiators who reviewed COP29 climate finance outcomes and developed strategies for just and equitable climate action leading up to COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025.
About the Event:
Climate finance is central to meeting international legal climate obligations and driving policy and operational change on climate action locally, transnationally, and globally. The outcome of the 29th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (COP29) in Baku Azerbaijan, November 2024 (dubbed the ‘Finance COP’) was a new global finance goal and a framework for raising ambition for climate finance in the run-up to COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025. The agreement for a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) commits developed countries to ‘lead’ on mobilising at least US$300 billion in climate finance annually by 2035 and sets into motion a pathway to work towards a scaling up of finance to US$1.3 trillion a year by 2035.
This event, organised under the auspices of the Warwick Climate Governance and Policy Nexus (NEXUS), the Warwick Sustainability Spotlight and the Climate Finance for Equitable Transition (CLiFT), will critically review the outcomes of COP29, assess the current state of climate finance negotiations and policy discussions leading into COP30, and to discuss just and equitable climate action. The event is also supported by the Centre for Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE) and the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD).
The 'From Baku to Belém' workshop, organised under the auspices of the Warwick Climate Governance and Policy Nexus (NEXUS), the Warwick Sustainability Spotlight, and the Climate Finance for Equitable Transition (CLiFT), took place as a platform for capacity building, policy advocacy, information dissemination, and networking. The event brought together academics, negotiators, policymakers, civil society groups, and representatives from bilateral and multilateral finance institutions.
Attendees engaged with global experts and policymakers, including:
- Academics and Researchers: Experts working on climate finance, climate law, policy, and governance.
- Government: Policymakers, legislators, and regulators focused on climate finance and multilateral climate negotiations.
- International Organisations: Representatives from organisations like the UNFCCC bodies and UNCTAD.
- Civil Society: Members of NGOs and civil society groups involved in climate and sustainable development advocacy.
- Financial Institutions: Banks, impact investors, and private sector entities in renewable energy and green finance.
Speakers included:
- Professor Kerry Kirwan, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor Research, University of Warwick
- Rt Hon The Lord Teverson, Member House of Lords (Industry and Regulators Select Committee, and Honorary Fellow, IGSD)
- H.E. Wael Aboulmagd, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Climate, Environment and Sustainable Development Department, Egypt
- David Bailey, Head of Global Climate Finance, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
- Vicente Paolo Yu, Senior Legal Advisor, Third World Network (TWN), Visiting Research Fellow, UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Associate Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Katie Swan-Nelson, Economic Affairs Officer, Climate and Development Strategies Unit, Division on Globalisation and Development Strategies, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- Rebecca Thissen, Global Advocacy Lead, Climate Action Network (CAN) International
- Dr. Amiera Sawas, Head of Research and Policy, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT) Initiative
- Professor Celine Tan, Professor of International Economic Law, University of Warwick
- Meena Raman, President, Friends of the Earth Malaysia and Head of Programmes, TWN
Explainer: How Climate Finance Shapes Global Climate Action
Climate Finance for Equitable Transitions (CLiFT) project
Understanding the Climate Finance Architecture (CLiFT)
Capacity Building for Researchers and Non-Academic Stakeholders: Bridging Academia and Policy
In addition to the high-level discussions on climate finance and governance, the event featured a dedicated capacity-building element designed to support both early and mid-career researchers, as well as non-academic stakeholders (policy actors, civil society representatives, and practitioners). Over the course of two days, the event facilitated a two-way learning experience, where both academic and non-academic participants built the necessary skills and networks to engage meaningfully in the climate governance landscape, particularly in multilateral contexts like COP30.