South Africa will push for a benchmark to triple adaptation finance by 2035 at next month’s United Nations climate change conference, as developing countries face a widening gap between the funding needed to respond to climate change and the money available.
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister David Maynier said the country would also press for more funding to address climate-related losses and damage, before the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November.
Speaking at a national stakeholder consultation on South Africa’s negotiating mandate in Johannesburg on Friday, Maynier said Africa’s low contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions made adaptation and resilience particularly important priorities for the continent.
South Africa had experienced severe storms, flooding and drought, with impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, water resources, transport, tourism and livelihoods, he said.
The country will advocate for a benchmark to triple adaptation finance by 2035, alongside a process to monitor progress towards the target.
Maesela Kekana, the deputy director-general responsible for climate change and South Africa’s chief negotiator, said the priorities of the COP31 presidencies aligned with South Africa’s position, particularly the Global Goal on Adaptation and advancing the Belém to Addis Vision.
The Belém–Addis Vision on Adaptation is a UN climate-negotiation process intended to help countries put global adaptation goals into practice and measure progress towards them. It was established at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025.
Kekana said adaptation was becoming a priority across the negotiations as the impacts of climate change were felt around the world. He said clearer indicators were needed to assess progress in building resilience.
“On mitigation [reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming], it’s quite simple. You get the reports, they tell you when you aggregate the NDCs [Nationally Determined Contributions], we are somewhere around 2.8°C,” he said, referring to projections that the world could warm by about 2.8°C by the end of the century if current climate policies are implemented.
This is well above the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C, while keeping it below 2°C.
“But on adaptation, we don’t really know where we are,” he said. “Hence this Belem to Addis vision becomes quite important because it deals with key indicators that will tell us exactly how far we are in building resilience.”
Maynier also highlighted the shortfall in funding for the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, which supports developing countries and communities affected by climate-related disasters.
The fund has received more than 170 proposals from developing countries, representing estimated needs of more than $1.4 billion (R23bn) but has about $450 million available, he said.
South Africa had submitted a $20m proposal for the restoration of the Kruger National Park and associated conservation landscapes after the January 2026 floods.
Maynier said South Africa would continue to push for climate finance that was adequate, predictable and accessible to developing countries, including through replenishments of the Green Climate Fund and the Global Environment Facility, as well as increased contributions to the Adaptation Fund.
On emissions reduction, South Africa will support the continuation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme beyond 2026, while arguing that developing countries should not be subjected to new targets outside the nationally determined framework of the Paris Agreement.
The government is developing legally binding sectoral emissions targets for energy, transport, agriculture, mining, industry, human settlements and the environment.
Maynier said a just transition remained central to South Africa’s climate response and must address poverty, inequality and unemployment alongside the shift to a lower-carbon economy.
South Africa will also support the operationalisation of a Just Transition Mechanism to strengthen international cooperation and mobilise support for implementation.
The minister expressed concern about unilateral climate-related trade measures that he said could restrict developing countries’ access to international markets and limit their participation in higher-value, lower-carbon industries.
He said South Africa’s negotiating position would be guided by science, equity and sustainable development, as well as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
The stakeholder consultation brought together representatives from government, business, labour, civil society, academia and research institutions to help shape the country’s position ahead of COP31.
The minister said South Africa’s participation in the negotiations would depend not only on advancing its position internationally but also on the quality of consultation and coordination at home.