Pakistan Chosen for COP31 Pilot to Turn Climate Plans into Fundable Projects

• Pakistan is among five countries selected for the COP31 Climate Implementation Bridge pilot.
• The initiative aims to turn national climate priorities into projects ready for investment.
• A separate facility will help cities in developing countries prepare and finance resilience projects.

Pakistan has been selected as one of five pilot countries for a COP31 initiative designed to help developing nations secure financing for their climate plans. Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia and Uzbekistan were also chosen for the Climate Implementation Bridge, known as BRIDGE.

The COP31 Presidency announced the pilot countries during New York Climate Week, ahead of the UN climate summit scheduled for November in Antalya, Türkiye. The initiative is being delivered with the United Nations Development Programme.

BRIDGE aims to help countries develop projects that are ready for investment and build the capacity needed to carry them out. For Pakistan, it could provide a way to connect priorities such as flood protection, drought preparedness, heat resilience and water management with international financing opportunities.

The five countries will develop their own plans linking climate finance to investment-ready projects and national development goals. The pilot will also examine barriers that delay implementation and ways to improve access to existing international climate support. Lessons from the first group are expected to guide expansion to other countries, particularly developing nations, small island states and least developed countries.

The COP31 Presidency also launched the Sustainable Urban Resilience Financing Facility, or SURFF, with ILBANK, UN-Habitat and the World Bank. It is intended to help cities in low- and middle-income countries turn national climate commitments and adaptation plans into local projects that can attract public and private funding.

The facility will work through three components: a country platform connecting urban resilience priorities with project preparation and financing; a centre to develop tools and share practical experience; and an international dialogue for countries and partners to exchange ideas on implementation.

Türkiye’s environment, urbanisation and climate change minister, Murat Kurum, said adequate financing was essential to putting climate plans into practice. The COP31 Presidency said BRIDGE and SURFF form part of its wider agenda to speed up the implementation of climate commitments.