COP31 Puts Climate Finance and Cities at the Heart of Its Push to Turn Plans Into Action
By: Oluwaseun M. Lawal
New York, September 24, 2026 — Climate plans are being made. The harder part is getting them financed and implemented.
That was the message from the COP31 Presidency at New York Climate Week on Thursday, as it unveiled two major initiatives aimed at helping countries move from climate commitments to projects that can actually be funded and delivered.
The Presidency named Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as the first five countries taking part in its Climate Implementation Bridge (BRIDGE) initiative. The programme is designed to help governments connect their climate priorities with financing, develop stronger pipelines of investment-ready projects and deal with some of the practical obstacles that often slow implementation.
It is a simple problem, but a big one. Countries may have ambitious climate and development plans, yet getting those plans from paper to actual projects can be difficult, especially when financing and technical capacity are limited.
Working with delivery partner UNDP, BRIDGE will support participating countries in developing finance-ready project portfolios while helping them identify gaps in implementation and improve their ability to attract available climate finance.
The first five countries will also provide feedback that could shape how the initiative is expanded in the future. According to the Presidency, there has already been strong interest from developing countries, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
But the finance conversation is not only happening at the national level.
At another New York Climate Week event, the COP31 Presidency launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility (SURFF), an initiative developed by ILBANK in partnership with UN-Habitat and the World Bank.
The focus is cities.
As countries work to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), SURFF is intended to help close the gap between national climate commitments and what actually happens on the ground in cities.
The facility will help countries and cities develop urban resilience programmes and projects that are ready for investment. It will also seek to bring public and private finance into those projects, while strengthening the capacity of local institutions to deliver them.
SURFF will operate through three main areas: a Resilient Cities Country Platform, a Resilient Cities Centre of Excellence, and an International Resilient Cities Dialogue.
The first will connect national and urban priorities with project preparation and financing. The second will turn lessons from implementation into practical tools for other countries. The third will create a space for governments and partners to exchange experiences on climate finance and urban action.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, put the challenge in simple terms.
“Climate ambition without finance is like an EV without a battery – it won’t go anywhere.”
He said ambitious climate plans should not stall simply because the money and support needed to implement them are missing.
For the COP31 Presidency, the message is becoming clearer: the next stage of climate action is not only about making bigger promises. It is about finding the money, preparing the projects and getting them built.
The new finance and cities initiatives follow other announcements made this week, including the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge and a new initiative focused on climate-responsible artificial intelligence.
Together, the measures are shaping the Presidency’s broader push for an implementation-focused COP31 in Antalya this November.
Oluwaseun Musa Lawal is an Editor at REPORTERS ROOM with over eight years of professional journalism experience. He specializes in reporting on politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial affairs. His work is driven by a commitment to accuracy, balanced reporting, and public-interest journalism.
