The 30th UN Climate Change Conference, COP30, took place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. Held on the edge of the Amazon and ten years on from the Paris Agreement, it was billed as a COP of implementation: less about new headline targets and more about turning existing commitments into action.
The headlines
Negotiators focused on several areas that matter directly to finance:
- Climate finance delivery. Following the new collective finance goal agreed at COP29 in Baku, discussions centred on how to scale finance for developing countries, including the Baku to Belém Roadmap towards mobilising $1.3 trillion a year.
- Adaptation. Adaptation finance and indicators for measuring progress on resilience received far greater attention than at previous COPs.
- Forests and nature. Brazil's presidency championed new approaches to financing forest protection, putting nature firmly on the finance agenda.
- National plans. Countries were expected to bring updated nationally determined contributions, setting the direction of policy that will shape corporate transition plans.
As with many COPs, the outcome on the transition away from fossil fuels was contested, and many observers felt the final texts fell short of what the science requires. But the direction of travel for policy, disclosure and capital allocation remains clear.
Much of the capital needed for the transition will be raised and deployed through the loan markets.
What it means for the loan markets
Much of the capital needed for the transition will be raised and deployed through the loan markets, from project finance for renewable energy to corporate facilities that fund decarbonisation capex. Three implications stand out for our members.
Transition finance is moving centre stage
The focus on implementation reinforces the shift from financing assets that are already green to financing companies on a credible path to decarbonisation. Lenders will increasingly look to borrowers' transition plans, and to how loan proceeds and targets connect to them.
Adaptation is a growing financing need
Greater attention on resilience points to rising demand for finance for adaptation projects, such as water, infrastructure and agriculture, an area where use of proceeds lending under the Green Loan Principles can play a role.
Integrity remains essential
As sustainable lending grows, so does scrutiny. Robust key performance indicators, ambitious targets, clear reporting and appropriate external review remain the foundations of a credible sustainable loan market.
The LMA's role
Together with the APLMA and LSTA, we publish the Green Loan Principles, the Social Loan Principles and the Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles, along with guidance to help market participants apply them. We will continue to update our guidance as policy and market practice develop after COP30, and to support members through our sustainable lending training and events.
