The Playbook for Climate Finance
Investing in a Thriving Planet
When it comes to the climate crisis, every action matters.
This guide covers background info about climate COPs, summarizes what happened at COP29 and shares lessons to apply for upcoming COP30.
COP, standing for the Conference of the Parties, is an annual high-level meeting organized by the United Nations, and the Climate COP is organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Climate COPs are important because they bring together delegates from nearly every country on Earth to negotiate global goals for tackling climate change, present their individual countries’ plans for contributing to those goals and report on their progress.
The climate COP meets in a different country every year to demonstrate the importance of collaboration between the world’s nations. COP30 will take place this year in Belém, Brazil. This follows COP29, which brought nearly 200 countries together to coordinate global climate action during November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
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With slow negotiations and difficult consensus-building, COP29 fell short of the major breakthroughs many had hoped for.
In its final hours, countries agreed to mobilize US $300 billion per year in climate finance by 2035—a figure well below the US $1 trillion that experts view as the minimum needed to protect vulnerable communities and deliver on global mitigation and adaptation goals.
However, the outcome did include a broader call for all public and private actors to “scale up and secure efforts” toward mobilizing an additional US $1 trillion annually by 2035 for developing countries.
In practical terms, the US $300 billion is a defined, government-led commitment, while the additional US $1 trillion represents a collective, aspirational target spanning all sources of finance.
Closing the finance gap will depend on how governments, development banks, investors and civil society turn ambition into implementation. We all have a lot of work to do to make sure this happens.
Despite the obstacles, there were bright spots, including an agreement that promises to unleash the power of well-regulated carbon markets. There were also positive developments outside the formal negotiations, like refreshed commitments from Brazil and other countries.
In response to the need for an economic blueprint to address the climate crisis, TNC created the Playbook for Climate Finance: a roadmap for unlocking the flow of finance to the solutions our planet urgently needs. It gathers a decade of breakthroughs into one guide and includes 10 bold approaches that prove we can tackle climate change, protect nature and strengthen communities at scale.
Finance Roadmap: Finalizing the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to operationalize the new US $1.3 trillion climate finance goal, including who pays, how it’s tracked and how private capital is mobilized.
Stronger NDCs: Pushing countries to submit enhanced 2035 climate plans aligned with the 1.5 °C target and linked to the Global Stocktake outcomes.
Adaptation Metrics: Agreeing on a workable set of Global Goal on Adaptation indicators and financing mechanisms that balance rigor with feasibility for developing nations.
Just Transition & Loss & Damage: Defining financing and equity frameworks that ensure fair transitions for workers and vulnerable countries and scale up loss & damage funding.
Implementation & Accountability: Shifting focus from pledges to delivery and oversight, strengthening reporting, institutional coordination and real-world project pipelines.
We're advocating for a swifter transition to renewable energy sources, greater use of natural climate solutions and more investment from both the public and private sectors, especially to help those countries that have been most affected by the impacts of climate change.
We're also working to ensure there is increased inclusivity and equity in climate policy processes since the leadership of marginalized groups, like Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs), are essential to protecting cultural and biological diversity.
You can read about the global actions we will be advocating for on the ground in Belém on our COP30 Scorecard.
DownloadIn Brazil, TNC plays a strategic role in advancing the national climate agenda through close collaboration with key government ministries, including Environment and Climate Change, Agriculture and Livestock, Indigenous Peoples, Foreign Affairs and Finance.
COP30 is expected to be a milestone for strengthening nature-based solutions, especially in the Amazon, promoting cattle traceability, socio-bioeconomy, forest restoration and support for mechanisms such as REDD+ and the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), with guaranteed participation and autonomy for Indigenous Peoples and local communities in governance and access to at least 20% of the fund’s resources.
The organization also expects concrete progress on the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap, aiming for the delivery of US $1.3 trillion for climate finance, adaptation and just transition decisions, with greater integration among the Rio Conventions and active participation of civil society, with international recognition of Brazil’s role as a leader in the climate, biodiversity and sustainable development agenda.
Climate Change is affecting the waters, people and nature of the Amazon Basin. Explore how local communities are adapting to these changes with nature-based solutions. Read the story >
Every action matters. Every ounce of carbon, every fraction of a degree, every day matters. Our leaders’ climate actions matter, and your climate actions matter too.
Our FAQs about climate and guide to talking about climate change will help you feel more comfortable raising these topics at the dinner table with your friends and family.
Want to have an age-appropriate conversation about climate change with kids? Nature Lab has a variety of lessons, videos and other resources to educate K-12 students on climate issues and solutions.
Share this page on your social channels so others know what they can do, too. Here are hashtags to join the conversation: #COP30 #NatureNow
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If you're in the U.S., speak out for climate action now at all levels of government. Pledge to stand with The Nature Conservancy as we call on U.S. leaders to put nature and climate solutions on the policy agenda.
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Educate yourself and share the knowledge. If you feel ready to take a deep dive, scroll down to the next section for some resources we've put together on key topics that will be discussed at COP30.
Real-world solutions to the most complex challenges facing people and nature today.