Activists call on world leaders to fund frontline communities at COP 30
Environment & Climate
By
David Njaaga
| Nov 12, 2025
Civil society groups are urging world leaders to turn pledges into real action as the world faces record heat and worsening disasters.
Recent deadly landslides in Elgeyo Marakwet have killed at least 36 people and displaced hundreds, an incident that highlights the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.
“Communities in the Global South are paying the highest price for a crisis they did not create,” noted Kitasi Wanga, Programme Manager for Resilient Livelihoods and Emergencies at ActionAid Kenya.
“Women, children, and persons with disabilities are hit hardest by floods, droughts, and food shortages, yet remain locked out of key decision-making spaces,” he added.
According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European Union programme that tracks global climate trends, 2024 was the hottest year on record.
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It marked the first time global temperatures averaged more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Scientists observed that the milestone shows the world is already living through the climate emergency it once sought to prevent.
The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) is being held in the Amazon city of Belém from November 10, to November 21. The summit, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), follows COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where negotiations on finance and loss and damage stalled.
Delegates in Belém are expected to decide how to mobilise new climate funding for vulnerable nations while setting firmer timelines for global emissions cuts.
At the centre of the talks is the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), created at COP 27 in 2022 to provide financial support to developing countries facing irreversible climate impacts such as destroyed homes, livelihoods, and cultural heritage.
The fund is hosted on an interim basis by the World Bank and is expected to begin disbursing resources in 2025.
As of the end of COP 29, pledges to the fund stood at more than US$700 million, far below the hundreds of billions annually that vulnerable countries may require.
“COP 30 must raise climate finance to at least $1.3 trillion annually and ensure the funds are grant-based, predictable, and accessible to frontline communities,” explained Wanga, adding, “This meeting cannot end with more pledges and empty declarations.”
Last year’s New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance drew sharp criticism after wealthy nations pledged $300 billion, far below the actual needs of developing countries for mitigation, adaptation, and climate-related loss and damage.
African leaders described the outcome as a betrayal, while civil society groups labelled it “the biggest joke of the year.”
ActionAid Kenya and allied organisations are pushing for urgent activation of the loss and damage fund, with transparent and fair access for the communities already grappling with droughts, floods, and food insecurity.
Delegates from across the Global South have travelled to Belém despite financial and logistical hurdles, hoping the summit will mark a genuine turning point.
Wanga observed that future climate financing should prioritise agroecology, green livelihoods, and women-led initiatives rather than “false solutions” like carbon markets and biofuels.
“The time for talk is over. COP 30 must deliver concrete results that protect people and the planet,” noted Wanga.