“Bridging Climate Finance Gaps: Practical Approaches for Developing Countries” – GCC Climate Action Hub Pavilion, Blue Zone, 14th November 2025

COMSATS, in collaboration with the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Morocco; the Food Security and Agriculture Centre of Excellence (FACE-FFC), Pakistan; and the Global Carbon Council (GCC), UAE, convened a Policy Dialogue “Bridging Climate Finance Gaps: Practical Approaches for Developing Countries” at the GCC Climate Action Hub Pavilion on 14th November 2025. The session responded to the acute and persistent challenge confronting developing economies, insufficient, unpredictable, and often inaccessible climate finance for adaptation, resilience-building, and climate-resilient agriculture.

Moderated by Dr. Fahman Fathurrahman, Science and Environment Sector Expert at ICESCO, the discussion drew senior government officials, multilateral finance practitioners, and knowledge-sector leaders into a robust exchange on actionable strategies to overcome systemic barriers in public climate finance delivery. Participants discussed emerging frameworks for Loss and Damage, national readiness systems, and institutional reforms essential for translating climate finance flows into measurable, resilience-enhancing outcomes.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Dr. Mohammad Nafees Zakaria, Executive Director COMSATS, underscored that the global climate architecture continues to reflect asymmetries between those least responsible for emissions and those most severely affected. He reiterated that for developing countries, especially agrarian economies at the frontline of climate stress, grant-based finance is indispensable for safeguarding food systems, natural resources, and public welfare. He emphasized collective responsibility in addressing climate debt, highlighted the catalytic potential of technology transfer and intellectual-resource sharing, and urged developing nations to strengthen South–South cooperation as a mechanism for aggregating scientific capability, enhancing bargaining power, and optimizing access to multilateral climate funds.

Representing ICESCO, Dr. Muhammad Sharif provided an analytically grounded perspective on the structural reforms required to unlock climate finance for the Islamic world and broader Global South. He stressed that climate finance strategies must be rooted in evidence-based risk assessments, integrated knowledge systems, and enhanced absorptive capacities of national institutions. Dr. Sharif emphasized ICESCO’s support for member states in operationalizing STI-driven solutions, including satellite-based monitoring, AI-supported impact modelling, and capacity-building for ministries tasked with NDC implementation, noting that without such systems the effectiveness of climate finance remains severely constrained.

Speaking from the perspective of FACE-FFC Pakistan, Mr. Hassan Akram highlighted the critical role of industry-supported agricultural innovation in accelerating climate-resilient development. Drawing on FACE-FFC’s work in digital agriculture and community-based extension ecosystems, he stressed that climate finance can only deliver transformative outcomes when it is channeled into interventions that strengthen farmer-level agency, equip local systems with actionable climate intelligence, and incentivize private-sector engagement in resilient supply-chain development.

Deliberations throughout the session identified practical and scientifically grounded pathways for strengthening access to public climate finance. Speakers reiterated the importance of aligning domestic policies, institutional mandates, and sectoral planning cycles with international funding requirements to address slow disbursement rates and limited absorptive capacity in developing countries. They emphasized that climate finance systems must be designed to support long-term resilience, not short-term project cycles, by integrating climate-risk data into budgeting, embedding multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms, and mainstreaming evidence-based governance practices.

Representing Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Madam Suweibatu Adams emphasized that institutional readiness is not merely procedural but deeply structural. She underscored that Ghana’s progress in accessing climate finance has been anchored in harmonizing scientific evidence with national development priorities, and implementing cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms between environment, finance, science, and local governance institutions. She stressed that for public climate finance to be transformative, it must strengthen local institutions, embed adaptive innovation, and support resilient food and water systems essential to national stability.

From the humanitarian and community-resilience perspective, Ms. Aisha Jamshed of Welthungerhilfe stressed that climate finance must reach the last mile, smallholder farmers, women, and vulnerable rural households, through transparent and verifiable delivery channels. She highlighted WHH’s experience in scaling community-designed adaptation models, noting that localized early-warning systems, decentralized water governance, and community-managed resilience infrastructures yield measurable benefits when adequately financed and monitored.

Mr. Oliver Rieche of Balance Eco illuminated the legal and regulatory dimensions of climate finance, explaining that fragmented regulatory environments and outdated legal instruments frequently deter access to funds. He cited examples of countries that reformed fiduciary standards, clarified environmental governance mandates, and introduced standardized resilience-metrics frameworks, thereby unlocking previously inaccessible multilateral finance.

Drawing attention to the critical role of data, Mr. Sohail Malik from Pakistan’s Climate Resource Coordination Centre emphasized that without localized climate data integrated into national development planning and budgetary allocations, climate finance cannot be effectively targeted or prioritized. He noted that data-driven modelling covering agriculture, water, and urban resilience has enabled Pakistan and other regional states to channel public resources toward high-impact interventions and to reconcile short-term stabilization needs with long-term climate-resilience trajectories.

Representing community-driven climate action, Ms. Joselyn Mirashi of the Eco Pulse Network highlighted the significance of empowering local communities with credible information, adaptation tools, and decision-making authority. She underscored that communities are not passive beneficiaries but active co-architects of climate-resilience solutions, with networks such as Eco Pulse elevating community insights, and forging partnerships that translate local priorities into funded adaptation projects.

The dialogue concluded with a shared recognition that bridging climate-finance gaps requires coordinated and multi-layered interventions: grant-based finance, legally enabling regulatory environments, data-driven planning, empowered local institutions, and strengthened South–South and Triangular cooperation. Panelists reaffirmed that climate finance must be transparently governed, scientifically informed, and equitably distributed to ensure that vulnerable populations particularly farmers, rural communities, and low-income urban groups benefit from resilience-building investments. The session contributed substantively to COP30’s broader agenda on the Global Goal on Adaptation and the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, highlighting pathways for developing countries to translate climate finance into durable, transformative, and measurable climate-resilience outcomes.