At the UN Climate Change Conference, Environment Minister Schneider pledged additional funding of 60 million euros for the adaptation of developing countries to climate change. Now we are waiting to see how much Germany will contribute to the rainforest fund.
Germany contributed 60 million euros to a fund intended to help affected countries adapt to climate change. This was announced by Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider at the COP30 world climate conference in Belém, Brazil.
“We will continue to support vulnerable countries,” said the SPD politician. “When people cannot adapt to new climate conditions, there is a risk of hunger, poverty, and people being forced to leave their homes.”
Adaptation fund payments will be used, among other things, to better protect communities in coastal areas from extreme weather events such as hurricanes.
Rising global temperatures make events such as floods, droughts, forest fires and hurricanes more likely to occur. According to scientists, dangerous infectious diseases also spread as temperatures rise.
The largest donor in Germany
According to government information, Germany has been the largest donor to the Adaptation Fund since its founding in 2007. Since then, the fund has used around 1.4 billion US dollars for around 200 projects in 108 countries, reaching more than 50 million people. At last year’s conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Germany also announced a payment of 60 million euros.
Recalling the federal government’s austerity measures, Schneider stressed to delegates from some 190 countries that Germany remained a reliable partner. The Federal Republic is sticking to last year’s World Climate Conference decision which stated that developing countries should receive $300 billion per year until 2035 to fight climate change and adapt to its impacts.
Last year, six billion euros was provided from the federal budget alone, and a total of almost twelve billion euros flowed from Germany for climate finance.
Only a handful of countries have pledged new funds
The environmental and development organization Germanwatch criticized the fact that less than $133 million was raised for adaptation funds in 2025. This amount is “not even half of the minimum targeted amount of $300 million for 2025.”
According to the GSCC climate network, only half a dozen countries have pledged new funds for adaptation funds, including Belgium, Spain and Sweden. Oxfam climate expert Jan Kowalzig said Schneider’s commitment to adaptation funds came at the right time. By doing this, Germany also put pressure on other industrialized countries to take action.
Sabine Minninger, climate expert at Bread for the World, explains that adaptation funds are a good way to help developing countries that are heavily impacted by climate change because of their low bureaucratic barriers. The fact that Germany has been a “reliable donor for many years” is also an effective strategy to combat the causes of displacement.
How much money does Germany give to the rainforest fund?
Another announcement from Germany was also eagerly awaited at the World Climate Conference: During his visit to Belém, Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged “huge sums” for a rainforest fund launched by Brazil.
Countries that conserve their forests should be rewarded according to the fund’s model. Instead, they have to pay fines for every hectare of forest damaged. Rainforests play an important role in stabilizing the climate, including as a reservoir for greenhouse gases.
The second and decisive week of COP30 negotiations began today, Monday, and many ministers made their positions clear in their speeches at the conference plenary session. The main issues under debate are more ambitious steps to immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and funding for poorer countries.
