Holding COP30 in Belém, on the edge of the world’s largest rainforest, underlines what is at stake: the Amazon region is both a vital carbon sink and a front line in the fight against deforestation and climate change.
So this year’s meeting aims to change course. Delegates will review national climate plans, push for $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance, take new steps to help countries adapt and advance a “just transition” to cleaner economies.
‘It’s time to implement’
COP30 has been considered a turning point: a moment of truth and a proof of global solidarity. The summit begins Monday in Belém against a grim backdrop: scientists say the planet is on track to temporarily exceed the 1.5°C warming limit set by the Paris Agreement.
Experts warn that such a glut could still be short-lived, but only if countries act quickly to step up efforts to reduce emissions, adapt to climate impacts and mobilize financing.
In his speech at the Leaders Summit, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, was forceful: “This is no longer a time for negotiations. It is a time for implementation, implementation, implementation.”
Under Brazil’s presidency, COP30 will revolve around an action agenda of 30 key objectives, each driven by an “activation group” tasked with scaling up solutions.
The effort has been called a mutirão – an indigenous word meaning “collective task” – reflecting Brazil’s push to highlight indigenous leadership and participation at the conference and in the global fight against climate change.
The government says it wants all sectors – from indigenous communities to business leaders – to help deliver on past climate promises.
Fund the transition
COP action agendas are based on voluntary pledges and not binding laws. But the scale of the change needed is enormous: at least $1.3 trillion in climate investments each year by 2035.
Without urgent action, scientists warn that global temperatures could rise by between 2.3°C and 2.8°C by the end of the century, leaving vast regions uninhabitable due to flooding, extreme heat and ecosystem collapse.
At the center of the conversations in Belém will be the Report on the Baku-Belém roadmap for 1.3 trillion dollarsprepared by the presidencies of COP29 and COP30. It sets out five priorities to mobilize resources, including boosting six multilateral climate funds, strengthening cooperation to tax polluting activities and converting sovereign debt into climate investment, a measure that could unlock up to $100 billion for developing countries.
The report also calls for dismantling barriers such as investment treaty clauses that allow corporations to sue governments over climate policies. Those disputes have already cost governments $83 billion in 349 cases.
Delegates are gathering for the Climate Summit taking place in Belém, Brazil.
What else is on the COP30 agenda?
Another key focus in Belém is the latest round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), national climate plans that explain how countries aim to reduce emissions. To keep warming below 1.5°C, global emissions must fall by 60 percent by 2030. Current NDCs would only achieve a 10 percent reduction.
Of the 196 Parties to the Paris Agreement, only 64 had submitted updated NDCs by the end of September. At preparatory talks in Germany in June, many countries warned that this ambition gap must be closed at COP30.
Delegates are also expected to approve 100 global indicators to track progress on climate adaptation, making results measurable and comparable across nations.
Today, 172 countries have at least one adaptation policy or plan, although 36 are outdated. The new indicators should help shape more transparent and effective policies.
With the planet warming faster than ever, adaptation is now a central pillar of climate action. But the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warns that adaptation funding must increase twelve-fold by 2035 to meet the needs of developing countries.
COP30 will also advance the Just Transition Work Programme, aimed at ensuring that climate measures do not deepen inequality. Civil society groups are calling for a “Belém Action Mechanism” to coordinate just transition efforts and expand access to technology and finance for the most vulnerable nations.
Why COPs are important
The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known simply as COP, remains the leading global forum to address the climate crisis. Decisions are made by consensus, promoting cooperation on mitigation, adaptation and financing.
Over the years, the COPs have achieved historic agreements. In 2015, the Paris Agreement set a goal of keeping global temperature rise “well below 2°C” while striving to reach 1.5°C.
At COP28 in Dubai, countries agreed to phase out fossil fuels “in a fair, orderly and equitable manner” and triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. Last year in Baku, COP29 raised the annual climate finance target for developing countries from $100 billion to $300 billion, with a roadmap set to expand to $1.3 trillion.
Taken together, the legal framework built over three decades under the UNFCCC has helped avoid a projected temperature rise of 4°C by the end of this century.
COP30 begins on Monday, November 10 and will run until Friday, November 21.