Powerful Belem Call: Igniting Climate Finance Revolution Now
by Frédéric Boccara
BELEM — An international meeting was held in Belém on November 6–7, just ahead of the COP30, demanding a radical overhaul of the financial system to address the climate challenge. Organized by the journal Option Brésil, linked to Brazil’s Workers’ Party (PT), the journal Économie & Politique, linked to the French Communist Party (PCF), and IPEASA (Institute for Research on Sustainable Cultural and Environmental Studies of the Amazon), the meeting brought together environmentalists, economists, and political, social, and trade union movements from 11 countries. The Party of the European Left (EL) took part, with a contribution from its Vice President, Yiannis Bournous in which he stated: “…There is no Planet B, so we need to push forward a Plan B that will replace the current, dominant failing system”. A call to action was issued at the close of the meeting.
Faced with the climate emergency, participants highlighted the tragic inadequacy of current funding. While estimated needs amount to $4.5 trillion per year over 20 years—rising to $7 trillion when including human-centered expenditures (jobs, training, public services, social protection)—at least half of this should go to countries of the Global South. Yet financial commitments from the Global North to the South total only $300 billion, and only by 2035.
The first session, drawing on concrete experiences, underscored the inseparability of social and ecological issues. “It is people—women and men—who build ecological solutions,” it was emphasized, noting that employment and human capacities are “causal” in driving the transition.
The second session denounced the dominant neoliberal approach. Financial markets not only fail to provide the necessary funding but also impose conditions that undermine project success by prioritizing capital and returns. Using public spending to compensate for insufficient returns only leads to ecological failure. Participants advocated for “massive advances” through monetary creation at near-zero interest rates, rather than relying on markets.
The third session took a more explicitly political focus. Speakers emphasized the need for a “completely different productive system” and “a shift in consumption patterns and culture”. Alongside a new type of corporate investment, a global effort in vocational and cultural training for ecological transition is essential, as is massive funding for public services.
This is what a new international financing system must help achieve. It is not merely about transfers between countries but a shared struggle of peoples and nations against a predatory, climate-destructive system of capital accumulation—and for the use of money in the service of life.
A consensus emerged in favor of massive international monetary creation, notably through Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in an expanded currency basket, at very low interest rates close to 0%, dedicated to financing climate action—both mitigation and adaptation—based on three inseparable principles:
- Geographical equity in allocation,
- Democratic control of processes,
- Binding criteria free of neoliberal conditionalities.
- This implies a profound transformation of the IMF.
Faced with political obstacles, particularly from the United States, participants proposed an immediate step: a Climate Fund among “non-denialist” countries, funded through monetary creation, democratically governed, and operating according to the above criteria. The adopted statement expresses these demands, and participants commit to popularizing the call, building an international network, and demonstrating the convergence of struggles.
“The time for half-measures is over,” the declaration concludes, reflecting internationalist and anti-imperialist perspectives that we share. This is only the beginning.