COP30 was a climate summit shaped by a world in transition. It unfolded in a complex geopolitical landscape, where climate ambition advances unevenly, climate impacts are intensifying, and the need for resilient, inclusive economic growth is more urgent than ever. 

For small and medium-sized enterprises, this COP made one thing unmistakably clear: their role is no longer peripheral. They are essential to delivering emissions reductions, building resilience, and transforming value chains, particularly in emerging markets, where economic growth and climate vulnerability intersect most sharply. 

And yet, the systems that should enable SMEs to act: data, finance, technology, and policy, remain fragmented and difficult to navigate. This is the gap B4NZ went to COP30 to address. 

A COP Defined by Progress and Persistent Fractures 

Across the business and finance forum in São Paulo and the following two weeks of negotiations in Belém, several cross-cutting themes emerged that will shape climate action over the coming years: 

A renewed focus on resilience and adaptation
Climate impacts are accelerating, and countries most exposed, including many across the Global South, made it clear that adaptation is no longer a secondary agenda. More political commitment and resourcing were directed toward resilience than at any recent COP. For SMEs, this matters enormously: climate shocks directly threaten jobs, supply chains, productivity, and access to markets. 

Growing pressure for clearer pathways away from fossil fuels
While countries could not agree on a single, unified commitment to transition away from fossil fuels, momentum continues to build around transparent, just transition plans. SMEs will be instrumental in delivering this transition across every sector of the real economy. 

Rising attention on trade, global value chains, and climate-aligned investment
Climate and trade policies are increasingly intertwined. For SMEs in developing and emerging markets, this matters deeply: without accessible data and finance, they risk being left behind as markets, supply chains, and investor expectations shift. 

The return of civic space and stakeholder participation
For the first time in several years, a COP hosted in a democratic nation saw stronger civil society engagement and public mobilisation. SME voices were more visible, more forceful, and more coordinated than ever before. 

A renewed spotlight on forests, nature, and natural capital
With the Amazon as the host region, nature-based solutions and forest protection were central to global climate dialogue. Many countries directly connected this to the livelihoods and resilience of SME communities. 

Deepened recognition that climate finance remains the biggest bottleneck
While commitments were made, the scale and structure of climate finance continue to fall short for both developing economies and small businesses. Without redesigned financial systems and better project pipelines, ambition cannot translate into action. 

 

Emerging Markets: Turning Pledges into Investable Pipelines 

A central part of our COP30 engagement was our work on emerging markets, where we are focused on unlocking private capital for clean energy, green industry, and resilient infrastructure. 

During COP, we launched our Interim Report: From Pledges to Pipelines – Mobilising Private Capital for a Just Transition in EMDEs, which identifies two key barriers: 

  • Structural barriers: including fragmented early-stage pipelines and undersized blended finance vehicles 
  • Capacity gaps: between institutional requirements and locally deliverable, investment-ready opportunities 

The report also highlights the emergence of new ecosystem builders: organisations and platforms aggregating pipelines, convening global finance, and strengthening local delivery capacity. Enabling these platforms, alongside standardised de-risking mechanisms, will be critical to translating COP pledges into investable, scalable projects. 

As part of this work, we facilitated a high-level session in Rio at Climate Parliament’s annual summit on ‘Building Investment-Ready Energy Systems in Emerging Markets’, bringing together parliamentarians, investors, and development partners. Key takeaways included: 

  • Clear policy frameworks and credible pipelines are essential to mobilising private finance 
  • Open, competitive markets lower energy costs and incentivise innovation 
  • Local capacity and community-focused infrastructure are critical for inclusive growth 

These insights reinforced what we’ve seen on the ground: ambition exists, but enabling environments must be strengthened. 

SMEs at the Forefront of Climate Action 

Against this backdrop, SME Day at COP30, now in its third year, carried new weight. It underscored: 

  • SMEs are indispensable to meeting national climate targets 
  • They contribute 60%-70% of employment globally 
  • Their resilience underpins national adaptation strategies 
  • They are essential to low-carbon industrialisation in emerging markets 
  • They face rapidly multiplying climate and trade requirements 

B4NZ participated in multiple sessions, including our ‘SME Action for a Global Transition’ event with KPMG in São Paulo, the UN Climate High-Level Champions event, and the Climate-Proofing SMEs Campaign session, alongside Activation Group 28, the SME Climate Hub, ITC-GIVC, and the GCFF. Across these discussions, key themes emerged: 

  • The need for simple, interoperable sustainability data frameworks 
  • Finance pipelines that reward early action, not penalise it 
  • Digital tools and capacity-building that reflect SME realities 
  • Reducing duplication in reporting, especially for supply chains 
  • Scaling support for SMEs in emerging markets 
  • Enabling SMEs to integrate into sustainable value chains 

Crucially, data remained central: collecting it, using it, sharing it, and ensuring financial institutions can act on it with confidence. 

The insights from COP30 reinforce why the SME Sustainability Data Taskforce exists. Our mission is simple but transformative: “Report once, share many”, a standardised, voluntary framework giving SMEs clarity and financial institutions confidence. Before the end of 2025, B4NZ will publish an update on the second phase of this work. 

 

Closing Thought 

COP30 demonstrated both the challenges of global climate governance and its critical importance. But it also showed something powerful: SMEs and emerging market actors are stepping forward with ambition and clarity. 

Now the world must meet them with the tools, data, finance, and policy signals to ensure they can succeed. 

A special thank you to Sage, our COP30 sponsor and partner and to all our members and partners who shape our work, not only around COP, but every day of the year.  

 

By Heather Buchanan, CEO, B4NZ