Pakistan Among First Nations Chosen for COP31 Finance Plan

New York (GNP): Pakistan has been selected as one of the first five pilot countries for a new COP31 initiative aimed at helping developing nations turn climate commitments into finance-ready projects and mobilise international funding.

The COP31 Presidency announced Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as the initial participants in its Climate Implementation Bridge, known as BRIDGE, during New York Climate Week.

The programme is being developed with the United Nations Development Programme ahead of the UN climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.

BRIDGE aims to close the gap between countries’ climate plans and the financing needed to implement them, by developing bankable project pipelines and strengthening national capacity.

For Pakistan, which faces climate-related risks including floods, droughts, heatwaves and water stress, the initiative could help connect climate and development priorities with international financing opportunities.

The pilot countries will develop country-led pathways linking climate finance with investment-ready projects and national development targets, with lessons from this initial group set to guide the programme’s later expansion to other developing countries, including Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

The initiative will also work to identify barriers to implementation, strengthen investment readiness and improve access to existing international climate-finance mechanisms.

Alongside BRIDGE, the COP31 Presidency also launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility, known as SURFF, in partnership with ILBANK, UN-Habitat and the World Bank.

SURFF will focus on three areas: linking national urban resilience priorities with project preparation and financing, developing tools and sharing implementation experience, and facilitating international dialogue on climate finance and resilient cities.

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Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, said climate targets could not be achieved without adequate financing, calling for climate plans to be converted into investable projects and matched with suitable financing.

Both initiatives form part of the COP31 Presidency’s broader Action Agenda, which focuses on accelerating the implementation of climate commitments, following earlier launches of the “35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge” and a separate initiative on climate-responsible artificial intelligence.

COP31 is scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.

Murat Kurum said, “Climate ambition without finance is like an EV without a battery, it won’t go anywhere.”