Climate Justice Demands More Than Promises: Why COP30 Must Deliver Finance

 

Climate Justice Demands More Than Promises: Why COP30 Must Deliver Finance

The Global South emits a fraction of the world’s carbon, yet suffers most of the damage. From Zambia to across Africa, communities are adapting with limited resources. Climate finance is overdue and the media must be part of the solution.

Zambia is among many countries in the Global South feeling the disproportionate weight of climate change. In 2024, the nation faced one of its worst droughts in decades, dragging down the economy and affecting 87 of its 116 districts.

Yet Zambia, like much of Africa, contributes just about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This contrast, low emissions but high vulnerability, underscores a fundamental injustice in the global climate debate: climate finance is not keeping pace with the scale of the crisis.

As the world prepares for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, climate finance must take center stage. For three decades, leaders have met annually in the Blue and Green Zones of the COP summits, promising to support vulnerable countries. But pledges have consistently fallen short. The $100 billion per year climate finance commitment, first promised in 2009, has yet to be fully realized , leaving communities in Africa exposed to worsening droughts, floods, and heatwaves without adequate resources to adapt.

Zambia’s experience is illustrative. Government-led adaptation efforts, supported by civil society and environmental NGOs, helped communities withstand the 2024 drought. But these interventions remain piecemeal and underfunded. Without substantial and predictable climate financing, scaling up drought-resistant agriculture, renewable energy, and conservation efforts will remain an uphill battle.

There is also a neglected but crucial piece of the puzzle: the role of the media. Effective climate financing is not just about infrastructure and technology. It is also about awareness, accountability, and behavioral change. Journalists in the Global South are on the frontlines of telling climate stories that connect policy with people’s lived realities. Yet funding for journalism capacity building is rarely part of climate finance packages. This must change. Stronger media systems mean stronger advocacy, better community engagement, and greater pressure on governments to use funds effectively.

As someone who has trained journalists in Zambia on environmental reporting, I have seen the impact firsthand: informed communities make better climate choices. But without investment, these efforts risk remaining fragmented and under-resourced.

At COP30, delegates must push beyond rhetoric. Climate financing should prioritize:

1. Greater contributions from high-emission countries that bear historical responsibility for the climate crisis.
2. Direct, accessible financing for vulnerable countries to implement adaptation and mitigation strategies at scale.
3. Dedicated funding for media and public education, recognizing that without informed citizens, climate action stalls.

The world cannot afford another decade of missed promises. For Zambia and the Global South, climate finance is not charity  it is climate justice.

 

About the Author

Raphael Banda is a media development expert, journalism trainer, and environmental specialist. He holds master’s degrees in Climate Change & Media and Strategic Communication for Development, and a climate-smart farmer in Zambia.

📩 Contact: +260979208286 / bandaraphael55@gmail.com