Higgins: Climate finance access remains top COP31 priority

A new action plan is being developed to improve access to climate finance, David Higgins, Australia's Chief Negotiator for COP31, said.

According to Report, he made the remarks on the third day of Baku Climate Action Week 2026 (BCAW 2026).

Higgins said access to climate finance has been a key issue from the early stages of the process and remains particularly challenging for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which often have limited capacity to navigate complex financial systems.

He noted that countries with stronger domestic institutions are generally better positioned to engage with the existing climate finance architecture.

Higgins said access to climate finance had risen to the top of the priority list following close consultations with Pacific countries on where efforts should be focused this year.

He added that work had begun with Pacific partners and Türkiye to explore possible solutions, following extensive consultations with institutions and other stakeholders in recent months.

According to Higgins, the process has shown that it is possible to develop a declaration, a call to action and an action plan that would bring parties together around concrete measures to improve access to finance for SIDS and LDCs.

He said there was a clear path toward achieving that goal.