UNCTAD16 parallel event: Climate-resilient development — finance, structural transformation and cooperation

Your Excellency, (Ms.) Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica;

Your Excellency, (Ms.) Urujeni Bakuramutsa, Permanent Representative of the Mission of Rwanda to the UN in Geneva;

Dear (Mr.) Umid Abidhadjaev, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan;

Dear (Mr.) Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, Secretary for Economic and Financial Affairs of Brazil;

Dear (Ms.) Yuefen Li, Special Advisor on Economics and Development Finance at the South Centre in Geneva;

Dear Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Vice President of Global Strategies and the Managing Director for Europe at IISD (moderator);

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Dear colleagues,

Welcome to our discussion on climate-resilient development.

At its heart, climate-resilient development is about ensuring that people everywhere can lead better lives on a planet that is getting warmer.

Let me be frank about where we stand.
A decade after the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement, the global average temperature has already risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — the very threshold we had hoped not to reach until the end of this century.

And climate change is not the only challenge we face. Inequality, debt distress, environmental degradation, and geopolitical fragmentation are all putting immense pressure on our global economy.

Yet, despite these daunting realities, there is no room for despair. Building a better world begins with conviction and collective action.

Three areas are central to achieving climate-resilient development: finance, structural transformation, and cooperation. Let me briefly touch on each.

First, finance.
Finance lies at the core of today’s economies. Yet, despite ample financial resources worldwide, capital is not reaching the countries that need it most. Developing nations face a 4 trillion US dollar annual gap between their sustainable development goals and the financing required to achieve them.

For climate investment alone, the needs are in the trillions. While the 300 billion US dollar target agreed in Baku marks progress, UNCTAD research shows that actual climate financing needs exceed 1 trillion dollars every year.

Beyond the numbers, what we truly need are effective mechanisms to deliver finance where it matters most.

The international financial architecture must be reformed. Mounting debt burdens are forcing governments into impossible trade-offs. Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries where governments spend more on debt interest than on health or education.

Developing countries are borrowing at rates up to twelve times higher than those available to advanced economies.

The good news is that we have a blueprint — adopted in Seville in July — and soon we expect to have the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to mobilize 1.3 trillion dollars. The next step is clear: we must turn these commitments into action.

Second, structural transformation.
Climate action demands that we reimagine our economies.
That means shifting from fossil fuel dependence to renewable energy, from extractive industries to green manufacturing, and from vulnerable food systems to climate-smart agriculture.

Without such transformation, poorer countries will remain trapped in cycles of vulnerability. Diversified economies are more resilient — to both climate and economic shocks.
Resilience is not accidental; it is the outcome of deliberate structural change and diversification.

Third, cooperation.
In an interconnected world, cooperation is essential to achieving shared prosperity.

While we are witnessing a weakening of multilateralism, developing countries are forging new paths through South–South cooperation and regional integration.
When Brazil and South Africa share renewable energy technologies;
when ASEAN countries pool resources for climate adaptation;
when South–South development banks respond swiftly to crises, or when the New Development Bank finances more than 39 billion dollars across 120 projects in ten years, we see tangible proof that cooperation delivers.

These partnerships mobilize finance at lower costs, transfer knowledge without conditionalities, and demonstrate that cooperation is both practical and powerful.

South–South cooperation is not merely a complement to a changing global order. It is becoming a vital pillar for shaping a more inclusive, development-oriented multilateralism — and a catalyst for the climate ambition our planet urgently needs.

As Secretary-General António Guterres reminds us, we need “stronger, networked multilateralism” — one that connects trade, investment, technology, and development.

UNCTAD stands at the centre of these efforts, bringing a unique development perspective rooted in the realities of the Global South.
For us, climate action is not only about reducing emissions — it is about building resilience and creating development pathways that work for all countries.

Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

Finance, structural transformation, and cooperation are the three pillars of a fairer, more resilient, and climate-conscious future.

The challenges ahead are immense — but so is the determination of countries to act.

As I conclude, let us carry forward this spirit of collaboration and explore how, together, we can turn climate vulnerability into opportunity — laying the foundation for sustainable and inclusive development.

Thank you.