COP30 Adaptation Letter is Welcome but Not Enough

Brazil’s 8th COP30 welcome letter should be received with both hope and caution. 

Yes, it signals ambition. Yes, it speaks of unity and urgency. But from where we stand, in communities losing homes to floods, farmers battling unpredictable rains, and countries drowning in debt while paying for a crisis they didn’t create, warm words are not enough. 

The Global South, especially Africa, has heard visionary speeches before. What we need now is clarity on who will act, who will pay, and who will finally take responsibility. 

A letter alone cannot close the adaptation gap, but finance and justice will 

As Africa faces cyclones, droughts, and rising food insecurity, adaptation remains our lifeline. Yet the adaptation financing gap is widening, not shrinking. Behind every “adaptation fund shortfall” are actual lives, mothers walking further for water, children missing school to survive climate shocks, and communities rebuilding the same broken walls every year. 

If COP30 is serious, we need a concrete roadmap to fully capitalise the new Adaptation Fund. We need clear timelines and accountability for doubling adaptation finance, and we need to move from loans to grants — because survival should not push us deeper into debt. 

Climate ambition without debt justice is a contradiction 

Brazil’s letter speaks of developing fair global systems. That's good. But let's be honest: how can African countries build resilience while trapped in debt cycles that force them to choose between climate action and basic services? 

At COP30, debt justice must stand alongside climate action. That means: 

1. Climate-related debt restructuring and cancellation. 

2. A Global South-led financing architecture rooted in equity. 

3. No more “climate loans” disguised as aid. 

Loss and Damage acknowledgements are not actions 

The establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 was historic, but you can't make history without delivering anything. Communities already facing irreversible losses cannot wait for another COP of deliberation. 

By COP30, we expect new and additional contributions, not recycled budget lines. A permanent financing mechanism with predictable flows and a civil-society inclusive governance structure that avoids control by donors. 

Africa is not a passive participant — we are shaping the future 

Brazil’s call for solidarity is welcomed and a solid move, but solidarity must be grounded in justice, not charity. Too often, Africa has been treated as a stage for climate diplomacy rather than a decisive actor. Our continent is home to some of the world’s boldest climate leaders and the most innovative adaptation strategies. Yet we are still expected to fit into frameworks built without us. 

As we march toward COP30, we are not coming as victims; we are coming as architects. The stakes are too high for another symbolic COP. If COP30 wants to be remembered as a turning point rather than another diplomatic milestone, it must shift from political poetry to structural change.