From commitments to communities: What needs to change at COP31?

COP31 takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9–21st of November, bringing together representatives from across the globe to negotiate and agree on collective action to address climate change. 

As the world's largest annual multilateral climate decision-making event, COP is an important opportunity to shape global priorities, commitments and action. But as the climate crisis intensifies, the question is increasingly whether these commitments translate into meaningful change for the countries and communities facing the greatest risks. The answer is - it must! 

For Concern Worldwide, the message ahead of COP31 is clear: Adaptation finance must increase, be directed towards those who need it most, and be delivered at a pace that matches the scale and urgency of their needs, reaching communities on the frontline of climate change.  

Extreme climate events, like flooding, drought and heatwaves, are becoming more frequent and more severe, and are impacting already vulnerable countries the most.

Concern is calling for a substantial increase in adaptation finance, including delivery on commitments to at least triple adaptation finance. The scale of the challenge is considerable: developing countries are estimated to face annual adaptation costs of US$310–365 billion by 2035, while current international adaptation finance flows meet only a fraction of these needs. 

However, increasing the overall volume of finance is not enough. Finance must be allocated according to vulnerability and need, rather than countries' ability to navigate complex funding systems. 

This is particularly important for fragile and conflict-affected states. Despite being among the most climate-vulnerable contexts, these countries consistently receive some of the lowest levels of adaptation finance per capita. Financing mechanisms often assume stable institutions, functioning markets and established infrastructure – conditions that cannot be taken for granted in contexts affected by fragility. 

Concern is calling for needs-based, predictable and grant-based finance, alongside more flexible and accessible funding mechanisms that can operate and meet the needs of communities in fragile settings. This includes tailored technical support, proportionate access and reporting requirements, and diverse delivery channels that enable trusted local organisations and community-based actors to access and deliver finance. Climate, humanitarian and development financing must work more coherently to support long-term resilience while responding to immediate shocks. 

A key priority at COP31 will be advancing the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), including the implementation of its framework, targets and indicators. 

The GGA provides an important basis for measuring progress towards building climate resilience. However, progress cannot be measured through frameworks and indicators alone. Countries need the finance, institutional capacity and technical support to translate adaptation commitments into action. 

This means strengthening the development and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), ensuring they are adequately financed, informed by local priorities, and integrated into national and subnational planning and budgeting systems. Adaptation plans must move beyond identifying needs to enabling investment and delivery on the ground. 

For Concern, COP31 is an opportunity to bring the experiences and evidence of communities and country programmes into the global climate discussions. Our work across countries including Bangladesh, Malawi and Pakistan demonstrates that effective climate resilience requires more than individual adaptation projects. 

It depends on enabling communities to lead, strengthening the local systems that sustain resilience, connecting support from crisis response through to long-term adaptation, and ensuring finance responds to the different needs and realities of countries and communities. 

This experience informs our advocacy. Locally led adaptation must go beyond consultation, giving communities the resources, influence and decision-making power to shape and implement their own priorities. Investment must strengthen existing local institutions and systems, including disaster risk management structures, early warning systems and local planning and public finance. Support must be sustained across anticipatory action, humanitarian response, early recovery and longer-term adaptation, avoiding gaps between fragmented funding streams. And climate finance must be additional, predictable, accessible and flexible, with appropriate grant-based support reaching those facing the greatest vulnerability. 

At COP31, Concern will bring these priorities into international discussions while sharing practical examples of how they can be translated into policy and action. Our engagement will include five events: 

• Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance Official Side Event – Advancing Locally Led Adaptation at Scale: Aligning Finance, Policy and Action
• Pakistan Pavilion – Strengthening Extreme Heat Governance in Sindh Province
• Malawi Pavilion – Showcasing Malawi’s Community Resilience Fund Institutionalisation at COP31
• Bangladesh Pavilion – From Communities to COP31: Financing Locally Led Adaptation for Climate-Resilient Communities
• Ethiopia Pavilion – On the Road to Addis: Delivering Adaptation Finance That Reaches Local Communities

Each of these events focuses on what climate-vulnerable countries need to adapt, hearing from the voices at the forefront of these communities and the fight against the climate crisis.

COP31 must be a turning point from commitments to delivery. Success should not simply be measured by the finance pledged or frameworks agreed, but by whether resources reach the countries and communities facing the greatest risks, and whether they have the support and power to shape their own futures.