“In an interconnected world, climate vulnerability anywhere becomes an economic and security risk everywhere,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned at London Climate Action Week in June 2026.

This summer has again shown what that means in practice. Extreme heat in Europe caused more than 10,000 deaths, while wildfires and water shortages have affected communities across Europe and Central Asia. In my home country, Croatia, the area burned by wildfires increased by 74 percent compared with last year. Further east, melting glaciers in Central Asia are putting growing pressure on water, agriculture and energy systems.

This is increasingly an economic and development issue. Extreme heat is reducing productivity, increasing energy costs and pressuring public finances. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2026 ranks extreme weather as the most severe global risk over the next 10 years.

But addressing climate change is not only about avoiding economic losses. OECD-UNDP analysis shows that stronger climate policies aligned with the Paris Agreement could make global GDP 0.2 percent higher by 2040 than current policies.

The question, therefore, is how to finance climate action at the scale and speed needed to deliver lasting development gains.

Over the past decade, countries have made increasingly ambitious climate commitments through their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The challenge now is implementation: turning commitments into projects, investments and measurable development gains. This shift from setting targets to delivering results is central to COP31, hosted by the Government of Türkiye in Antalya.

Public finance will remain essential, but it cannot meet these needs alone. Many climate-vulnerable countries are already spending more on servicing debt than they receive in climate finance. Private capital must also be part of the solution: in 2023, private climate finance surpassed US$1 trillion for the first time.

The challenge is getting capital to where it can make a difference. Three shifts can help.

First, climate plans must become development and investment plans. Climate action cannot sit separately from decisions about jobs, energy, infrastructure, industry and growth. Integrating climate goals into wider development strategies can identify where investment will deliver both climate and development benefits.

Second, climate plans must give investors something concrete to invest in. A commitment to cut emissions matters, but investors also need viable projects, predictable policies, and financial instruments that reduce risk.

Third, countries need easier access to finance and stronger pipelines for investment-ready projects. Too often, available finance and promising projects fail to connect. Governments and development partners can bridge that gap by preparing projects, reducing investment risks and bringing public and private finance together.

Across Europe and Central Asia, we are already seeing how this can work. In Kazakhstan, UNDP support for renewable energy auctions and green finance instruments helped attract an additional $150 million to $200 million in private investment. In Uzbekistan, UNDP supported the country’s first green bonds in 2023, raising approximately $353 million.

These examples show that the challenge is not simply finding more money, but creating the conditions that allow capital to flow towards climate solutions.

This is increasingly the focus of UNDP's work with countries: strengthening investment environments, building pipelines of viable projects and connecting climate priorities with public and private finance. The Climate Implementation Bridge (CIB), introduced by the Türkiye COP31 Presidency, similarly recognizes the need to bridge policy, institutions, partnerships, finance and investment to accelerate delivery.

Climate finance is not charity, nor simply another cost for governments to absorb. It is an investment in growing economies, secure energy systems and thriving societies. Every delay increases future costs, while well-designed climate investments can bring returns through avoided losses, lower energy costs, new economic opportunities and greater resilience.

The world has dedicated the past decade to setting climate targets. As countries prepare for COP31 in Türkiye, the next must be about financing and delivering them: moving from climate pledges to investable plans, and from investable plans to tangible development impact.

This op-ed was originally published in Hürriyet Daily News.