Climate Leadership in the Global South
Climate leadership in the Global South is not a matter of ambition alone. It depends on institutions that can hold and deploy climate finance, on governments that can negotiate from a position of preparation, and on delivery that reaches the communities most exposed to climate risk. This page sets out that approach and where it comes from in Bilal Anwar's work.
Institutions that can deliver
Commitments made at the negotiating table only matter if national institutions can turn them into projects, budgets and results. Bilal Anwar's work has moved from supporting multilateral governance processes to leading implementation-oriented institutions, including Pakistan's National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), a government-owned sovereign financial institution dedicated to climate resilience.
Climate finance that countries can reach
Access to climate finance is often the barrier, not the willingness to act. At the Commonwealth Secretariat, Bilal Anwar worked across 54 nations in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean to unlock and deploy international climate finance for the world's most vulnerable states, including small-island nations and least-developed countries.
Diplomacy that includes developing countries
At the UNFCCC Secretariat, Bilal Anwar contributed to the architecture of international climate and carbon finance, including the regulatory standards and systems that enabled developing countries to take part in climate markets.
From COP31 to delivery
COP31 meets in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. Bilal Anwar's sessions and recaps are listed on the COP31 page.