Ethiopia Urges Global Cooperation, Climate Financing to Accelerate Climate Action

Addis Ababa, November 10, 2026 (ENA)— Foreign Minister Gedion Timotheos has urged countries to strengthen multilateral cooperation and close the climate finance gap, stressing the need to advance mitigation, adaptation, and implementation of global climate commitments.

According to COP32 Ethiopia, he made the call during his statement at the COP31 plenary in Antalya, Türkiye, where he highlighted the growing challenges facing international climate action and the need for collective responses.

He said the climate crisis was intensifying as geopolitical tensions tested international cooperation, while economic relationships were increasingly being reorganized around national security considerations.

The Minister added that competition over technology, investment, and trade was undermining climate action, even as countries faced growing pressure to reduce emissions and strengthen resilience against climate impacts.

Citing scientific assessments, including UNEP's Adaptation Gap Report and Limiting Overshoot Report, Gedion underscored the urgency of limiting global warming, closing adaptation gaps, and addressing irreversible losses and damages.

The reports highlight the shortfall between countries' adaptation efforts and climate needs, as well as the risks of exceeding global warming limits without stronger emissions reductions.

He argued that addressing persistent mitigation and adaptation gaps also required closing the climate finance gap, enabling countries to pursue their climate commitments despite increasingly difficult financing conditions.

In this regard, Gedion said COP31 should deliver progress across key climate agendas, including mitigation, adaptation, finance, just transitions, and the means of implementation.

He also expressed Ethiopia's solidarity with countries affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, emphasizing the shared determination to protect people through collective action.

The Foreign Minister reaffirmed Ethiopia's readiness to support the COP31 Presidency in making the Antalya conference successful.

He also congratulated Türkiye for hosting the conference, Australia for its leadership as President of Negotiations, and Brazil for the outcomes achieved during its COP30 Presidency in Belém.

Looking beyond the immediate COP31 negotiations, Gedion highlighted the conference's importance in preparing for the second Global Stocktake (GST2).

The second Global Stocktake (GST2) is a global assessment under the Paris Agreement that evaluates collective climate progress and identifies gaps requiring stronger action.

He said the assessment should identify where implementation had stalled, why progress remained uneven, and how international cooperation could address the obstacles countries face.

As Ethiopia prepares to assume the COP32 Presidency, he identified rebuilding confidence in multilateral climate cooperation as a central priority, stressing that this requires delivery, inclusive processes, and serious engagement with differences.

He concluded that climate cooperation should connect global ambition with national implementation and become a source of greater global cohesion.