COP30: Yearbook of Global Climate Action shows real-economy momentum. Read it here.
Parts of this site were translated using AI. Accuracy may vary.
COP30: Yearbook of Global Climate Action shows real-economy momentum. Read it here.
Parts of this site were translated using AI. Accuracy may vary.
Friday, 14 November 2025 | By Climate High-Level Champions
$1 Trillion for Clean Energy and Grids by 2030
Nations to quadruple sustainable fuels by 2035 for hard-to-electrify sectors
Drive to generate $1 trillion pipeline of investable adaptation projects by 2028
Belem, Brazil, 14 November – The first week of COP30 in Belém marked a decisive shift from ambition to execution, as governments, business, local and regional governments, indigenous groups and civil society used the summit’s convening power to drive real-world solutions for a more resilient, low-carbon economy.
Under COP30’s focused new Action Agenda, collaboration in the spirit of global Mutirão intensified across six priority areas designed to deliver on the Paris Agreement and close the gaps revealed by the Global Stocktake — with Week 1 focused on adaptation and resilience, clean energy and industrial decarbonisation, and climate-resilient cities and health systems.
Dan Ioschpe, Climate High-Level Champion for COP30, said: “This week we saw a step-change in the road to implementation. Capital is flowing, proven technologies are scaling, and barriers that once slowed progress are being dealt with, one by one.”
Nigar Arpadarai, Climate High-Level Champion for COP29, said: “Clean energy can’t move without modern grids. This is the capital and coordination needed to connect renewable power to people.”
Over 114 new Plans to Accelerate Solutions — developed by coalitions across 30 Activation Groups — are now live on the UNFCCC website, showing how businesses, investors, and communities are working together to turn ambition into action.
Today sees new Plans to Accelerate Solutions in clean energy, industry and transport:
Utilities and financial institutions committed over US$1 trillion to expand clean energy and modernise global power grids by 2030.
The Utilities for Net Zero Alliance (UNEZA) upgraded its investment target to nearly $150 billion annually with a major focus on grids, up 30% from $117 billion in 2024, after investing $142 billion last year — more than the GDP of 60 countries.
Now members will invest USD 66 billion per year in renewables and USD 82 billion in grids and storage.This acceleration directly supports the COP 29 Global Grids and Storage Pledge and the COP 28 need to triple renewable power.
The investments will see a group of the world’s leading utilities more than triple their combined renewable energy capacity by 2030 compared with 2023 levels, while also delivering tens of thousands of kilometres of new and upgraded grid infrastructure, and battery storage.
New grid-financing principles, developed under the Green Grids Initiative and UNEZA and endorsed by the COP 30 Presidency under the ‘Plan to Accelerate the Expansion and Resilience of Power Grids’, are designed to mobilise climate and development finance for grids in emerging economies. These principles are already backed by major institutions including the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, British International Investment, and Climate Bonds Initiative.
Additionally, The Asian Development Bank and Interamerican Development Bank both announced immediate plans to support grid development in emerging economies:
The Asian Development Bank and World Bank announced USD 12.5 billion in combined financing to strengthen the ASEAN Power Grid.
The Inter-American Development Bank launched the Power Transmission Acceleration Platform for Latin America and the Caribbean, with Germany committing EUR 15 million to support grid expansion and modernization. This includes funding for 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as RECLAC, targeting at least 80% renewable electricity by 2030".
Countries and companies launched the Belem Commitment for Sustainable Fuels (“Belem 4x”), pledging to quadruple production and use of sustainable fuels by 2035 for hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation, shipping, steel and cement.
Led by the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and endorsed by 23 countries including strong representation from developing economies, the Belem 4x moves beyond pledges to drive concrete plans, spurring market demand for sustainable fuels, transparent carbon accounting so investors know what they're buying, and building the physical infrastructure and trade corridors to move fuels at scale. It joins up previously siloed, sector-specific efforts -- the Hydrogen Breakthrough, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Plans, Maritime Decarbonization Plans, and industrial decarbonisation initiatives, including Chemicals -- coordinating supply, demand, and infrastructure under one umbrella.
Maersk announced plans to operate 41 methanol-enabled vessels by 2027, including the first large dual-fuel retrofit, with offtake agreements for 500,000 tonnes of green methanol annually from 2026.
The Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization launched today provides a framework for countries, especially in developing economies, to place green industrialization at the centre of their economic strategy.
Instead of treating heavy industry as a ‘hard-to-abate’ problem sector, the Declaration positions it as a driver of opportunity — bringing together industrial decarbonization, new clean-technology markets, and inclusive economic growth under one coordinated approach.
The initiative is being driven by a core group of countries including Brazil, the United Kingdom and South Africa, with support from UNIDO, as well as industry and research partners.
New analysis by the Mission Possible Partnership reveals a recent positive acceleration in financing for clean industrial plants with $140 billion in clean industrial projects nearing final investment decisions, and 1,000 commercial-scale plants now planned or operational. Emerging economies are leading the way, representing one-third of new projects and two-thirds of the $2 trillion global investment opportunity.
China is racing ahead, with 54 financed clean industrial projects – the most in the world. India (tied with Australia) has the third-largest project pipeline, with Brazil not far behind, and over a third of new projects identified are located in emerging markets.
The first major finance initiative of COP30, Fostering Investable National Planning and Implementation (FINI) for Adaptation and Resilience was launched in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, Natural Resources Defense Council and other 100 stakeholders. FINI aims to turn National Adaptation Plans – country-level roadmaps that outline how nations will prepare for and respond to climate impacts – from policy documents into investable plans that can attract real, large-scale funding from the private sector. The goal: develop project pipelines of USD 1 trillion in adaptation investment pipelines by 2028, with 20% coming from private investors, plus USD 500 million from multilateral agencies and philanthropies for risk assessment and to build local capacity for implementation. Additionally, it aims for a 25% rise in pre-arranged finance.
Health and Climate: Brazil announced a $300 million Global Plan to Strengthen Climate-Resilient Health Systems, supported by the Climate and Health Funders Coalition, a group of more than 35 philanthropies.
Technology and Data: Launch of the Green Digital Action Hub, led by UNITAR, World Bank and ITU, to measure and reduce the tech sector’s carbon footprint and expand access to green digital tools — building on COP29’s Declaration endorsed by 82 countries and 1,800 organisations.
Agriculture and AI: Brazil and the UAE unveiled AgriLLM, the world’s first open-source AI model for agriculture, and AIM for Scale, aiming to reach 100 million farmers with digital climate tools backed by the Gates Foundation.
Green Jobs and Skills: A Global Initiative for Jobs & Skills for the New Economy was launched to close the talent gap in the net-zero transition, uniting 20+ countries and 40 institutions by 2028 to embed green skills in national plans — with a focus on women and youth.
Mission Efficiency, a global coalition led by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), launched its Plan to Accelerate Doubling Energy Efficiency (PAS) at COP30 — bringing together 30+ international partners and 50 coordinated actions to deliver roadmaps, policies, and investments aimed at doubling global energy efficiency by 2030.
