Ambassador Adão Soares Barbosa of Timor-Leste chairs the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group for 2026-2027, representing 44 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye.
Amid the COP31 negotiations, Barbosa spoke with Dhaka Tribune Staff Reporter Rina Akter Tuli on Wednesday about climate finance, the Loss and Damage Fund and the challenges facing vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.
Dhaka Tribune: As Chairman of the LDC Group, what is your biggest demand at COP31, and how will it help vulnerable countries like Bangladesh?
Ambassador Barbosa: COP31 cannot be allowed to become yet another exercise in postponing difficult decisions. For us, this is not a matter of political preference but a fight for survival. The credibility of the Paris Agreement will be measured not by promises, but by delivering on them and protecting the lives of people in vulnerable countries.
Under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) set at COP29, we need to mobilise finance, make adaptation finance operational, and advance the cross-cutting agendas, so that countries can build resilience and take adaptation action to increase resilience and reduce risk. This is extremely important for us. Not just finance: technology transfer and capacity building are also vitally needed. Beyond this, we can also work on mitigation, but as part of a low-carbon development approach. Article 4.6 of the Paris Agreement is very clear: we can communicate our strategic processes for adaptation or mitigation planning to the global community through our NDCs, without any quantified targets.
Another point on mitigation is that, starting from this COP and beyond, we need a standing agenda item for discussing mitigation programmes, so that Parties can discuss how to address the emissions gap and how to scale up options.
Our other priority is adaptation, specifically the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA). We need a technical task force to support implementation of the 59 indicators agreed earlier. And National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) must be fully supported by the other side with climate finance, technology and capacity-building support.
Dhaka Tribune: The Loss and Damage Fund is still moving slowly. When will countries like Bangladesh actually receive money, and what obstacles stand in the way?
Ambassador Barbosa: The decision on the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) makes the access modalities clear: how we can access the fund directly. This is part of the fund’s governing instrument adopted at COP28 in Dubai. But in practice, getting this access is really difficult for us.
One option is direct access. If that is not possible, indirect access can be taken through accredited entities of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund, so that countries can submit funding requests and receive support for loss and damage from the fund.
But getting access is very hard. We need to have accredited entities. If we don’t, and can’t access the fund through direct access either, we will get nothing. So for the LDCs, we need to negotiate with partners to have a “functional equivalency” arrangement for the country, under the finance ministry, not the climate ministry. This is a key issue that needs more discussion with partners.
The truth is that the existing funds are not enough. The Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM) allow developing countries to submit funding requests. About 183 requests have been submitted, already amounting to around $2.8 billion, yet less than $1 billion is available, roughly $800 million. That is far below the need. So we are asking the international community here to take a decision on replenishment. The FRLD is due to be replenished by 2027, but we need to start now; we cannot wait until 2027.
Dhaka Tribune: At COP30 there was talk of tripling adaptation finance. Will it be possible at COP31 to secure a clear roadmap and accountability for this commitment?
Ambassador Barbosa: Tripling adaptation finance was something we, as the LDC Group, pushed and demanded last year. Now it has become very difficult; some parties want to keep it separate. But there are other parties too. It is part of our decision, and it will also be part of the climate finance work programme.
So how it gets defined will depend on the COP31 cover decision and on the decisions taken under the climate finance work programme. We have to decide here. These issues are very hard to tackle, but we must start discussions with partners, if not right now, then after this COP, so that they think about a pathway for adaptation finance for developing countries, especially LDCs like Bangladesh and Timor-Leste.
Dhaka Tribune: How will you secure a guarantee that rich countries will provide climate finance as grants rather than loans? Bangladesh is already under debt pressure.
Ambassador Barbosa: That is exactly our position. We need grant-based finance. Loans are quite difficult for LDCs, because money borrowed from outside has to be repaid, and LDCs have limited financial capacity to repay once a project ends.
So we are strongly demanding public and grant-based finance, because this is what reflects climate justice. Our contribution to global emissions is small, yet our risk is very high. That is why climate justice must be ensured through grant-based public finance, which can be assessed and tracked over time.
Dhaka Tribune: Bangladesh’s graduation from LDC status is approaching. How great is the risk of losing climate funds and special support measures after graduation, and what is the LDC Group doing about it?
Ambassador Barbosa: I think Bangladesh will lose only one fund: the LDCF, the Least Developed Countries Fund. But Bangladesh will be able to access the [Loss and Damage Fund], the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
We will continue to enjoy the benefits for some time after graduation. And after graduation, confidence in Bangladesh will increase, helping it obtain more resources from other sources. This is because, while a country is an LDC, confidence regarding fiduciary (financial management) risk is very low, meaning the risk is assessed as very high. And of course, we need to build our capacity to address this.
Dhaka Tribune: Bangladesh is facing a severe crisis from sea level rise, salinity and climate displacement. How much priority are these issues receiving in the negotiations?
Ambassador Barbosa: Ocean and coastal issues are very important for us in the negotiations. The ocean is one of our top priorities and must be addressed together with partners. Ocean management will be part of adaptation, and coastal zone management will also be part of adaptation.
But if sea level rise damages or destroys coastal infrastructure, that is actually not adaptation; it is real loss and damage, for which support must come from the fund. So there are two ways to tackle this: the first is adaptation, the second is loss and damage. Which one applies will depend on the type of proposal and data.
Dhaka Tribune: What kind of reforms do you want to see to ensure money reaches local communities directly (direct access)?
Ambassador Barbosa: As the LDC Group, we have already taken our own initiatives, about four of them, one of which is LIFE-AR (LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience). This afternoon, we launched a new facility for LIFE-AR. It is a locally led adaptation approach.
Through LIFE-AR, as part of the frontline countries, direct support can be obtained from available resources, especially from sources both inside and outside the Convention. Our partner countries are also ready to help, especially the United Kingdom and Ireland. This afternoon we heard clearly from them that they are ready to support this LDC initiative and the effort to localise adaptation finance.
And when we develop adaptation projects, they will be implemented at the local level, not the national level. The national level will only handle readiness work. But when we propose implementation projects, they will be at the local level, covering health, water security, food security, agriculture and social sectors.
Dhaka Tribune: Will the talks in Antalya, Türkiye, be able to meet LDCs’ expectations on transitioning away from fossil fuels? If not, what is your next step?
Ambassador Barbosa: I think temperature “overshoot” is the key issue for the LDCs. On that basis, we have discussed the importance of a mitigation work programme with negotiators from partner countries. If a mitigation work programme becomes part of this COP’s decision, it will keep the 1.5°C goal front and centre.
Overshoot is already happening, but we can make our best efforts to bring mitigation efforts back into the 1.5°C corridor.
Dhaka Tribune: What challenges do you see regarding climate finance?
Ambassador Barbosa: Climate finance is our most urgent concern. Accessible, grant-based and predictable finance must be ensured for vulnerable countries. At present, the process for accessing finance is extremely complicated, and simplifying it at COP31 is essential. Alongside this, adaptation finance must be tripled, and the finance needed under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement must be ensured.
