A global coalition of civil society organizations, including social movements, environmental and development NGOs, trade unions, and faith groups, has released a new report titled “Fair Shares, Finance, Transformation: Fair Shares Assessment, Equitable Fossil Fuel Phase-Out, and Public Finance for a Just Global Climate Stabilization.”

The report, endorsed by over 300 organizations worldwide, marks the 10th anniversary of the first Civil Society Equity Review, which evaluated countries’ climate ambitions ahead of the 2015 Paris Climate Summit.

Kelly Stone, Senior Policy Analyst at ActionAid USA, emphasized the importance of adopting a fair-shares approach to climate action. “It’s not just a moral imperative but a practical necessity. Delayed action—especially by wealthy, developed nations—only makes achieving the Paris Agreement targets more challenging.”

Stone criticized the failure of these nations to provide adequate grant-based climate finance, noting how this has eroded trust and hindered global progress.

The report highlights the extensive harm caused by the Global North’s reluctance to fulfill its climate responsibilities, particularly regarding climate finance. It also highlights the detrimental role of fossil fuel industry obstruction and the wealth concentration of the global elite.

Lidy Nacpil, from the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, called for significant reforms in international and national financial systems to enable Global South countries to address the climate crisis effectively. “To build resilience and tackle climate impacts, we need immediate, transformative changes in financial systems,” she stated.

Despite systemic challenges, the report argues that sufficient funding exists to support an ambitious and equitable global climate transition.

Amiera Sawas, Head of Research and Policy at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, described the transition as a moral responsibility aligned with UNFCCC goals and that the Global Coalition cannot afford to relent now.

“This requires systemic change, especially in the global economic system, which currently creates barriers for Global South nations. These countries need—and deserve—trillions to make this transition,” Sawas explained. She stressed that the real obstacle is not a lack of funds but insufficient political will to challenge the fossil fuel industry’s profit-driven interests.

Key Findings and Recommendations

The report outlines both immediate and long-term reforms needed to address climate inequities and halt the crisis:

• An updated analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2035, including demands for phasing out fossil fuels.
• A critical examination of developed countries’ failure to meet their fair share, especially their reluctance to commit to large-scale climate finance in trillions rather than billions.
• Evidence that adequate funding is available and potential sources for unlocking climate finance.
• Proposals for systemic reforms, categorized into short-term and long-term measures, to transition away from the current fossil fuel-dependent and inequitable systems.

The report calls for urgent action, particularly at COP 29, to establish ambitious, grant-based climate finance goals as a critical first step.

“The refusal of Global North negotiators to engage with realistic funding needs is a dangerous game. They view themselves as realists but are failing to recognize the existential necessity of reallocating and redistributing existing resources to save our planet,” a statement in the report.

As the world faces growing inequities and escalating climate threats, the coalition stresses the need for immediate, coordinated action. “We cannot wait any longer,” Stone concluded.