Follow our full coverage from COP30 here.
From 10–21 November, world leaders are gathering in Belém, Brazil for the largest climate event of the year: the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
Our team is following the twists and turns of the negotiations and bringing you stories from the ground – all here on our COP30 live blog.
Join the GLF WhatsApp channel for the latest from our team at COP30. Scan the QR code or click the link below.
15 November | 17:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 5 highlights:
As COP30 reaches its midway point, here’s the latest as we await the outcome of more consultations later tonight.
Brazil’s minister for Indigenous Peoples has called for the demarcation of Indigenous lands to become a part of climate policy.
Sônia Guajajara, a renowned Indigenous activist herself before being appointed to President Lula’s cabinet, wants many of the ongoing debates on Indigenous Peoples, traditional communities and family farmers to be reflected in the conference’s final text.
Her comments could be seen as vindicating the demands made by Indigenous activists throughout this first week of COP30 – and the demonstrations have shown no signs of dying down, with thousands of participants joining today’s global climate justice march in Belém.
Even Pikachu has shown up at this COP – if only to join a group of activists demanding that Japan stop financing fossil fuel projects in Southeast Asia and across the Global South.
Indonesia, meanwhile, is using last year’s breakthrough on Article 6 – enabling countries to buy carbon credits to meet their climate commitments – to promote its carbon markets. Critics aren’t convinced the country’s offerings actually represent real emissions cuts, though.
Germany is quietly planning to slash climate finance to the Global South by USD 1.5 billion per year, according to a draft budget seen by Euractive, despite the country’s commitment to increase this figure by 2035 as agreed at COP29.
Next year’s COP31 – wherever it may be hosted – will see the launch of a Global Wildlife for Climate Action Declaration endorsed by African leaders, Zimbabwe has announced.
Who are the 1,600+ fossil fuel lobbyists trying to block progress in Belém? Many U.S. oil and gas producers are sneaking in via trade groups, while at least a dozen industry representatives are among the 240-strong Canadian delegation, DeSmog reports.
15 November | 12:30 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
Thousands of people took to the streets of Belém this morning as part of a global day of action for climate justice.
Today’s march, organized by the People’s Summit – a movement that brings together more than 1,000 civil society organizations – is not part of the official COP30 agenda but forms part of a longstanding tradition.
After a three-year absence due to restrictions on the right to protest in previous host countries Egypt, the UAE and Azerbaijan, these marches have returned to the annual UN climate conference.
Rani Shanenawa, a 17-year-old Indigenous girl, joined the march from her community in the northwestern Brazilian state of Acre – more than 2,300 km from Belém.
She belongs to the Matulona Kaxinawá community and is calling for her people’s territory to be demarcated.
“The fight doesn’t stop,” she tells us. “It’s a big fight, and we will keep going, because we have to act.”
Yesterday, about 100 Indigenous Munduruku people demonstrated in front of the COP venue, demanding land demarcation and requesting a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
They were received by Brazil’s minister of the environment, Marina Silva, and minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, as well as the COP30 president, André Corrêa do Lago.
The flags of Venezuela and Palestine were also flown in solidarity at the march by activists representing the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), a traditional force in Brazil’s struggle for agrarian reform.
Carlos Martinez, a 66-year-old Venezuelan scholar, came to Belém to take part in the People’s Summit and draw attention to ecosocialism. “Venezuela has always been and will continue to be at the forefront of defending South America and the world,” he says.
The protest also featured a symbolic funeral for fossil fuels, along with a series of cultural performances.
15 November | 07:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
Biodiversity, desertification and climate are the three pillars of the Rio Conventions, created at the Earth Summit – the 1992 conference in Rio de Janeiro that gave rise to the three Conferences of the Parties (COPs).
At COP30, civil society groups are highlighting the importance of connecting these pillars.
“To tackle solutions for one crisis, we also need to look at the others,” says Daniela Cruz, an activist from northeastern Brazil and communications coordinator of the Brazilian Biodiversity and Climate Network (RBBC).
The initiative was officially launched at last year’s Biodiversity COP16 with the aim of discussing the connections between biodiversity and climate.
As the network grew, with projects expanding into the semi-arid Caatinga in Brazil’s northeast, members realized they were already building bridges between all three Rio Conventions.
Now, at COP30, the network is hoping to expand advocacy around this integration. “It’s still at an embryonic stage because the three discussions ended up becoming very fragmented,” says Cruz.
One of RBBC’s proposals is to examine specific negotiation tracks in each of the conferences in search of synergies.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel,” Cruz says. “We’re simply thinking about how we can join forces and work across the three areas – serving as a bridge that keeps this conversation alive.”
14 November | 18:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 5 highlights:
You may have noticed that we haven’t delivered many updates on the actual negotiations at COP30 – because there hasn’t been much progress to report so far.
Fossil fuels aren’t on the official agenda this year, instead forming part of a voluntary ‘roadmap’ being promoted by hosts Brazil.
Now, a group of countries, including France, Colombia, Germany and Kenya, want to formally put the issue on the table – setting up a likely confrontation with oil-producing countries.
Saudi Arabia, one of the likely protagonists in that battle, has already managed to stall a consultation on climate finance, which is now expected to finish tomorrow rather than Wednesday.
And as multiple new reports deem it virtually impossible to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius, countries are debating whether that figure – central to the Paris Agreement – should be included in this year’s text at all.
There’s been more positive progress on the Global Goal for Adaptation, with a draft text now being put together.
One thing not being addressed, though, is war and conflict. A group of 10 war-affected countries is pushing for improved access to climate finance, especially for adaptation and resilience, rather than just humanitarian aid.
Outside the negotiating rooms, civil society groups have complained about the “militarization” of the COP30 venue, which is now guarded by heavily armed officers in riot gear following UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell’s complaints earlier. Indigenous activists say they feel particularly targeted.
Extreme heat is claiming more than half a million lives each year, while one in 12 hospitals worldwide is at risk of climate-related shutdowns, according to a new report released by Brazil and the World Health Organization following the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan.
14 November | 16:00 BRT | By Jessica Roasa
We’re on day 5 of COP30 now, and a lot has happened – so here’s a quick round-up to get you caught up on events so far.
Ethiopia has been confirmed as the host of COP32. Meanwhile, COP31 is still undecided, with Australia and Turkey both trying to secure it.
The Loss and Damage Fund has officially entered operation – a long-awaited step to support frontline countries recovering from climate disasters.
China’s emissions have peaked and may have even declined over the past 18 months.
On the home front, Brazil expanded its ‘action agenda’ by putting family farming at the center.
Tech has also been everywhere this week, from AI-powered tools for farmers to sustainable cooling solutions to big debates around the environmental footprint of AI itself.
Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres publicly called the Trump administration’s approach “climate bullying,” warning that political pressure tactics are undermining global cooperation.
The G77 and China – the largest negotiating bloc of developing countries at the UN – are pushing for the Belém Action Mechanism for a just transition.
There’s still a lot unfolding, and week 1 of COP30 is far from over – so stay tuned for much more to come here on ThinkLandscape.
14 November | 11:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Around 100 Indigenous Munduruku protesters blocked one of the entrances to the COP30 venue this morning, demanding to speak to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The demonstrators, who are native to the Amazon basin, had to settle for a meeting with COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago. They told the press that their rivers are being privatized and their territory is under threat from deforestation and mining.
There were no physical altercations this time, unlike on Tuesday night when a separate group of mostly Indigenous protesters entered the Blue Zone and tussled with security.
UNFCCC head Simon Stiell has written to Brazilian authorities demanding improvements to security and other issues at the venue, including inadequate air conditioning, leaky ceilings, long lines for food and even water shortages in bathrooms.
Brazil says it has now addressed these complaints.
Even today’s temperatures are enough to cause several meters of sea level rise over the next few centuries, according to the latest State of the Cryosphere Report, released at COP30 yesterday.
The good news? The report says we can not only limit global heating but even reverse it to under 1 degree Celsius by the year 2200 if we act now.
Despite that, a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists – more than 1,600 of them – have turned up at COP30, outnumbering every country delegation besides Brazil, according to Kick Big Polluters Out.
The true number is likely to be higher, given that most country delegates haven’t fully disclosed their affiliations, as we reported yesterday.
Meanwhile, philanthropists have pledged USD 300 million in funding to support research into tackling the health impacts of extreme heat, air pollution and infectious disease.
13 November | 19:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 4 highlights:
An anti-woke brigade has seemingly turned up at COP30 as negotiations move on to the issue of climate and gender.
It’s been well documented that the climate crisis is exacerbating existing gender inequities, but countries appear more fixated on defining gender than on addressing those imbalances.
Multiple countries, including Argentina, Paraguay and the Vatican, are pushing for a narrow definition of gender that fully equates it to biological sex – a move that critics say is a distraction tactic aimed at stalling the negotiations.
On the other hand, the EU, Norway and Canada are leading efforts to promote recognition of gender diversity and intersectionality.
Meanwhile, Australia and Turkey are both still keen to host COP31. Australia had long been seen as the frontrunner, co-hosting next year’s event with several Pacific Island states, but Turkey has submitted a rival bid emphasizing climate finance for the Global South.
That deadlock must be broken by the end of COP30 – or else neither country will have its way, with the COP returning to the UNFCCC’s headquarters in Bonn, Germany.
Whoever hosts the next COP will have a mountain to climb, because emissions from fossil fuels are set to reach a record high this year. The latest Global Carbon Budget Report says humanity has now “virtually exhausted” its options to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees.
Who are the country delegates attending COP30 anyway? We don’t really know, because 54 percent of them haven’t properly disclosed their affiliation, according to Transparency International.
Elsewhere, the European Parliament has adopted a watered-down version of its 2040 climate targets, permitting the use of carbon offsets to help reduce emissions by 85 percent from 1990 levels.
13 November | 13:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
It’s lunchtime in Belém. A lot has been said about the high cost of accommodation here, but COP30 participants are relieved to find a range of affordable lunch options.
Participants with a Blue Zone badge can have lunch at the venue for BRL 40 (~USD 8) – with up to 80 percent of the food sourced from family farms and produced through agroecological methods.
Stephanie Maw, senior UN policy and advocacy manager at ProVeg International, is based in Europe and says she’s never seen so much diversity of food in supermarkets as she has in Brazil.
“Brazil is well-known for the flavors that come from this region,” she says. “That’s also growing locally, seasonally and sustainably.”
For Maw, catering is an opportunity to showcase the diverse flavors available in each host country, and COP30 is no exception.
She’s disappointed by the lack of vegetarian and vegan options, though: “I was hoping for more. I think we were all hoping for more.”
ProVeg’s advocacy focuses on increasing the availability of plant-based proteins. At COP28 in Dubai, the organization worked to ensure that two-thirds of the menu consisted of vegan options — which Maw believes set a high benchmark.
“It just gives you an idea of what’s possible – and here, the proportion of vegetarian and vegan meals is much lower than in previous years,” she points out.
Maw acknowledges that each country has its own food culture, and so participants shouldn’t expect the same menu at every COP. In her view, this diversity embodies the richness of holding the event in a different country every year.
“But I would love to see more fresh products here,” she says.
13 November | 12:30 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
As we reported yesterday, rich countries have an “entirely feasible path” to finding the USD 1.3 trillion in annual climate finance needed by countries in the Global South.
The new report by the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance reveals that half of this amount could be provided by private investors, with the other half covered by development finance institutions and other sources.
But there’s one major challenge to scaling up private investment in the Global South: risk.
That’s where blended finance comes in as a way to de-risk sustainable projects in so-called emerging economies.
We’ve published this quick explainer to cover all the ins and outs of this crucial new funding tool
In short, blended finance can encourage private investment in sustainable development projects by ‘blending’ public or philanthropic funds with private capital.
These public funds include governments, multilateral development banks like the World Bank, and other development finance institutions, and their role is to offer a ‘cushion’ to absorb some of the risk.
For instance, if an investment fails, they take the biggest hit – thus making these projects less risky and more attractive to private investors, who get paid out first.
Read the full explainer to learn more.
13 November | 11:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Based on the latest NDCs, the world is still on track to become 2.6 degrees Celsius hotter in 2100 than in pre-industrial times, according to the Climate Action Tracker.
For reference, we’re currently at about 1.3 degrees – though last year was the first calendar year to exceed the 1.5-degree threshold set out in the Paris Agreement.
Still, many countries, including hosts Brazil and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), won’t give up on the 1.5-degree goal just yet – because the sad reality is that some of them could be underwater within decades at this rate.
So, could that give countries the reality check they need to focus more on adaptation?
Back in Belém, Brazil’s Ministry of Health has launched the Belém Health Action Plan, which the UN describes as “the first international climate change adaptation plan exclusively focused on health.”
“The document sets out concrete actions to help countries prepare their health systems and respond to the health impacts of climate change, especially the most vulnerable communities,” it says.
12 November | 20:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
Wearing watermelon-styled earrings emblemizing the Palestinian cause, Susana Muhamad boarded the pro-Palestine boat this morning alongside dozens of activists from around the world.
A Colombian of Palestinian descent, Muhamad was the president of last year’s Biodiversity COP16, a position she still holds despite no longer serving as the country’s minister of environment and sustainable development.
That conference saw the historic recognition of Indigenous Peoples and local communities as protectors of biodiversity but left many questions over financing unresolved.
Muhamad sees Brazil as an important power in the Global South but is critical of Brazil’s decision to authorize oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.
“This COP should have been one of change, but instead, it has once again turned into the same ritual we see every year,” she says.
“We should be here declaring the Amazon a fossil-fuel non-proliferation zone. We should be here with a plan by Amazonian countries, financed by the Global North, for the recovery of the Amazon. Those would be two actions that truly reflect a shift in mindset.”
“But we keep deepening the developmentalist and fossil fuel logic without sitting down to discuss the economic agreements needed for a just transition,” she adds.
As for the Palestinian cause, the former minister points out that the Colombian government has banned coal exports to Israel due to its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“What we see in Palestine is fossil capital – and capital in general – showing how it tramples over people, committing genocide in the name of business,” she says, citing a report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese that exposed 48 companies profiting from the war in Gaza.
Muhamad also points out that the energy transition can’t be discussed without considering systemic benefits for communities – or the restoration of degraded ecosystems, for that matter.
“The reality is that at this climate COP, there is a lot of talk about energy transition because that’s where the bankable projects and business opportunities are,” she says.
“But restoring nature, which can be a process of social inclusion, cultural recovery and social stability for diverse cultures across all countries, doesn’t interest governments as much – because it doesn’t generate profit.”*
Editor’s note: The Global Landscapes Forum will be hoping to prove Muhamad wrong on this last point at its 8th Investment Case Symposium, which takes place at COP30 next Tuesday.
12 November | 19:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
As we covered earlier, COP30 became the stage for a barqueata – a collective boat parade – this morning.
Organized by the People’s Summit, a movement gathering more than 1,000 civil society organizations from around the world, the action brought together over 200 boats in what participants described as a ‘fluvial manifesto.’
Among them was a boat dedicated to solidarity with Palestine. Andressa Oliveira Soares, the Latin America and Caribbean coordinator of the Palestinian National Committee for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), told us that the boat’s message was to connect global struggles.
“We always say there’s no climate justice without the liberation of Palestine,” said Soares, speaking from the boat, which had sailed from the Guamá River to Guajará Bay in Belém.
“We want to connect the environmental impacts of genocide with the structural roots of the climate crisis,” she explained. “War causes carbon emissions and biodiversity loss.”
Organizers of the Palestinian boat called for Israel to be banned from COP30 for its actions in Gaza. They also demanded a global energy embargo, urging countries to halt all oil, coal and fuel exports to Israel.
The four-hour-long barqueata started at 9 A.M. and featured speeches, music, dance and protests through the morning.
Jamal Jum’a, a Palestinian activist attending COP30, said the Palestinian struggle is deeply connected to the environmental and territorial struggles faced by Indigenous Peoples in Brazil.
“Sailing through the Amazon rainforest has a deep meaning for us,” Jum’a told us. “In a way, it’s the same fight for land and for our existence. They are targeting the environment to make our lives impossible there.”
For Jum’a, attending COP30 alongside other social movements is an act of reclaiming those lost rights: “This space has long been occupied by those destroying our future.”
“A country committing genocide in Palestine for two years straight now should not be part of COP, nor of the United Nations,” he added.
The Palestinian boat activities were organized by the Palestinian National Committee for BDS (BNC), the Stop the Wall Campaign, the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network (PENGON), the Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD), and the Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (GEEP).
12 November | 18:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 3 highlights:
Climate lingo is packed with acronyms and abbreviations: NDCs, NAPs, COP, the UNFCCC.
Here’s a new one for you: BAM. That’s the Belem Action Mechanism for a Just Transition – a proposal being heavily pushed by the G77 and China to formalize the just transition work program that’s been underway since COP28.
Several rich countries, including the European Union, the U.K., Japan, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and Norway, are against the proposal and argued for the use of existing mechanisms instead.
Many of those countries came under fire at COP29 for balking at the USD 1.3 trillion in annual climate finance that Global South countries were demanding.
That amount is “entirely feasible” by 2035, according to a study by the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance – one of several published today and yesterday.
The COP30 venue isn’t the only place that needs more air conditioning: global demand for cooling is set to triple by 2050, says UNEP’s Global Cooling Report, which outlines a “sustainable cooling pathway” to make that possible without melting the planet.
Experts have outlined three key steps to avoid triggering more climate tipping points: keep global heating as close to 1.5 degrees as possible, account for tipping point risks and trigger three positive tipping points by 2030.
And this exposé by five NGOs reveals how 190 oil and gas companies from 42 countries are exploring and developing new fossil fuel projects across Latin America and the Caribbean – nearly half of which are in COP30 host country Brazil.
To cap off the day’s events, 10 countries have endorsed the newly drafted Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, which aims to tackle climate denial and misinformation and protect environmental defenders, journalists and researchers.
12 November | 16:30 BRT | By Jessica Roasa
This morning, I joined over 200 boats sailing down the Baía do Guajará, carrying around 5,000 people from more than 60 countries.
This was the boat parade of the People’s Summit – a powerful, fluvial act of unity led by Indigenous, riverine, and grassroots movements from across the Amazon and beyond.
The boats were filled with banners calling out false climate solutions and reminding the world that the real answers come from the peoples of the waters, forests and peripheries who have protected these lands for generations.
Among them is the Caravan of the Response, which traveled over 3,000 kilometers to be here, with leaders like Chief Raoni and Alessandra Korap Munduruku on board.
Their message is clear: “The peoples are the response.”
The response to deforestation. To extractivism. To a system that treats land, rivers, and food as commodities instead of rights.
And this is just the beginning.
The People’s Summit for Climate Justice will continue all week with debates, marches, workshops, and assemblies led by more than 1,000 movements from Brazil and around the world.
12 November | 10:30 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Dozens of activists broke through security lines and entered the COP30 Blue Zone last night, chanting, waving flags and tussling with security staff at the venue.
While it’s still unclear who was behind the demonstration, many of the protesters were dressed in traditional Indigenous attire, while others displayed the logo of Brazilian left-wing youth movement Juntos and carried banners reading “our forests are not for sale.”
As we’ve previously covered, the decision to host COP30 in Belém has been criticized by many local residents and Indigenous groups, who feel excluded from the conference and unhappy at the destruction of the Amazon.
The Brazilian government has also come under fire for its recent decision to continue drilling for oil at the mouth of the Amazon River.
In other news, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its annual report, which projects that renewables will outpace any other major energy source over the next decade.
A new report from Amnesty International finds that more than 2 billion people worldwide live within five kilometers of a fossil fuel project, enduring huge risks to their health.
Back to the Amazon: this morning, a flotilla of at least 79 vessels arrived in Belém, carrying some 5,000 activists from 60 countries. Our colleagues will be joining them soon – stay tuned.
11 November | 19:30 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 2 highlights:
Despite the massive shortage in accommodation in Belém, there are some 56,000 people attending COP30 – more than at last year’s COP29 and second only to COP28 in Dubai.
But with little news from the negotiation rooms so far, all eyes have been on the informal ‘action agenda’ and other announcements today.
The Least Developed Countries group has called for decisive action to keep the 1.5-degree goal alive, including tripling finance for climate adaptation and setting more ambitious NDCs.
And according to an analysis released today, China’s emissions appear to have peaked and may have even fallen over the past 18 months.
Like at past COPs, this conference features ‘thematic days’ – with yesterday and today devoted to adaptation, cities, infrastructure, water, waste, local governments, bioeconomy, circular economy, science, technology and AI.
It’s certainly lived up to the billing on the adaptation, technology and AI fronts, with vibrant discussions around AI-powered climate solutions, smart data for farmers and alternatives to air conditioning – as well as the environmental costs of AI.
Carbon dioxide removal came up today, too, at a side event featuring renowned planetary systems expert (and erstwhile GLF speaker) Johan Rockström. The cheapest method is, unsurprisingly, to restore the world’s forests.
11 November | 15:30 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
“Ciao bambino!”, said Christiana Figueres, one of the main architects of the Paris Agreement, when asked about the U.S.’s absence at COP30.
The Costa Rican diplomat and former UNFCCC executive secretary pulled no punches in a press briefing to journalists this morning.
“It diminishes their credibility and they won’t be able to do their bullying,” she said, pointing out that the U.S. is still represented by multiple members of Congress, state governors and other officials.
“The decarbonization of the economy is irreversible and is picking up speed,” she said, emphasizing that it will happen with or without the United States.
So, 10 years after the Paris Agreement she helped bring to life, how does Figueres view our climate prospects?
“The Paris Agreement triggered the decarbonization of a group of sectors of the global economy, and the decarbonization in the energy, transportation and energy storage sectors – which are the most advanced – proves that these technologies are competitive when compared to past technologies,” she reflected.
But, she stresses, that doesn’t mean all sectors are decarbonizing. “It seems to me that some sectors are very advanced and others still need a lot of work.”
While climate COPs have come under fierce criticism in recent years, Figueres believes they remain important because “we don’t have a global environmental policy. Every nation is sovereign.”
In other words: summits like these are a space to “hold everyone accountable.”
“COP is a huge ‘show and tell’, like we did in school. It’s a platform like no other to show the world the progress countries have made, who they are working with, and their coalitions.”
Figueres praised the Brazilian COP presidency for using its “political capital” to propose innovative solutions for decarbonizing the economy, such as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) launched last week.
Even in the face of clashing interests, geopolitical tensions and the constant flow of negative climate news, she believes there’s still room for optimism and hope.
“There’s an incredible amount of data that shows we are behind where science tells us we need to be,” she said, “but we are also [further] ahead of the curve [than] we thought we would be.”
11 November | 12:30 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
A few more tidbits from yesterday and this morning as the formal negotiations begin.
Ethiopia will host COP32 in 2027. The location of next year’s COP31, however, is still up in the air, with Australia and Turkey both in contention.
The Loss and Damage Fund that was launched at COP28 – now known as the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage – has entered operation and issued its first USD 250 million call for proposals.
It’s just a drop in the ocean compared to the amount needed, and activists want to see the fund scaled up quickly.
Some diplomats, including former UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres, are glad the U.S. is skipping this COP after its disruptive behavior led to the collapse of last month’s talks on shipping emissions.
Multilateral development banks have unveiled a set of metrics and methodologies for nature finance. They also announced that they’ve successfully doubled funding for adaptation since 2019, delivering USD 26 billion to low- and middle-income countries last year.
The UNFCCC has published its 2025 Yearbook of Global Climate Action, which points to the important role of local and regional governments, businesses and civil society – that’s you – in tackling the climate crisis.
11 November | 10:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
Family farming is gaining prominence at COP30 – and not just at side events or in the event’s catering.
There are 22 special envoys at COP for strategic issues, covering oceans, bioeconomy, Indigenous Peoples, trade unions and much more.
One of them is Paulo Petersen, the special envoy for family farming. He believes family farming and agroecology will form part of the ‘action agenda’ being promoted by Brazil.
“The chance for us to get family farming onto the COP agenda is here in Brazil. We must take advantage of this opportunity with the Brazilian COP presidency, which is sensitive to the issue,” Petersen tells us. Brazil has implemented numerous policies aimed at strengthening the sector in recent years.
However, he points to challenges in making this happen – particularly the agribusiness lobby, which has faced criticism from organizations and activists.
“It’s not simple because there is an attempt by agribusiness itself to capture the narrative and say that ‘everything is agro,’ including family farming,” he explains.
Yesterday, activists protested in front of AgriZone, a new space near the COP venue created by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which is linked to the Brazilian government. The space is dedicated to agribusiness and is sponsored by corporate giants such as Nestlé and Bayer.
“But we expect the family farming agenda to be here to stay,” says Petersen.
10 November | 20:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Highlights:
As day 1 of COP30 draws to a close, it’s been surprisingly harmonious as countries have agreed on the formal agenda without too much discord – which means the negotiations can begin tomorrow as planned.
Host country Brazil, meanwhile, has been pushing its ‘action agenda’ – a series of issues it wants to encourage governments, businesses and civil society to take voluntary action on.
Today, it announced a new global initiative to restore degraded agricultural landscapes, known as RAIZ (Resilient Agriculture Investment for Net Zero Land Degradation). This initiative will involve four Brazilian federal ministries and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).
The UNFCCC has released figures showing that the world is on track for a 12-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2035, based on the latest NDCs.
While a major improvement on the projected 20- to 48-percent increase if the Paris Agreement had never happened, it’s still a far cry from the 60-percent reduction needed to keep global heating within 1.5 degrees Celsius during this period.
UNFCCC head Simon Stiell pressed home the point that every fraction of a degree could decide the fates of “millions of lives and billions of dollars in climate damage.” But did his words reach those who needed to hear it?
Much has been said about the U.S.’s absence at COP30, as well as China and India’s decisions to send their vice premier and ambassador to Brazil to the summit respectively, rather than their heads of state.
But more than 100 U.S. state and local officials are in attendance, showing that the world’s second-largest emitter isn’t out of the climate game yet – even if its news media has largely been keeping quiet about the negotiations.
Business leaders, too, have shown up in far fewer numbers than at past COPs, many deterred by the high prices and low quality of accommodation in Belém and choosing to meet in Sao Paulo instead.
10 November | 15:30 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
While we wait for today’s events to unfold, this week’s feature article looks at why COP30 host Brazil is still keen to drill for more oil. Over to Cândida, our correspondent in Belém:
Brazil faces a paradox as it hosts COP30. Even as the country hosts and leads the world’s biggest climate conference of 2025, it has also given the green light for oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River. The Amazon rainforest holds nearly one-fifth of the world’s recently discovered oil and natural gas reserves, and the industry is already eyeing it as a new ‘global oil frontier.’
The country’s largest state-owned company, Petrobras, has received the approval of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to start drilling in an area known as the Equatorial Margin. But experts have warned of risks to the rainforest and the traditional communities that call it home – as well as the dangers of further entrenching the country in fossil fuels.
Read the full article here.
10 November | 12:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
As hordes of participants queued for their badges at registration, the first group of young activists began protesting at 9 A.M. sharp in front of the Blue Zone – the area of the COP30 venue in Belém where the negotiations take place.
“No to false solutions,” shouted a group from Debt for Climate, a global movement born in the Global South that calls for the cancellation of debts owed by Global South countries.
The group staged murdered activists, alluding to Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities who are often criminalized and even killed for defending their territories.
They also criticized the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), a fund launched by Brazil last Thursday that aims to preserve forests while generating returns for investors. Norway, for instance, has already announced a contribution of USD 3 billion to be disbursed over the next decade.
“Financializing life is not a solution,” they said. “It is just another form of exploitation under a different name. True climate justice is not negotiated in carbon markets.”
Dianx Cantarey, Debt for Climate’s global coordinator, says they expect nothing from this COP – which is precisely why they’re protesting.
“That’s why we came here: to denounce and to form alliances with the true defenders of territory. It is outrageous that the peoples who defend life are criminalized, while fossil fuel lobbyists keep enriching themselves here,” she tells us.
The Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life is a convoy of about 50 activists that started in Mexico on 12 October, passing through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia on their way to Belém.
The caravan was co-organized by Debt for Climate along with four other civil society groups: Asamblea de los Pueblos Indígenas del Istmo en Defensa de la Tierra y el Territorio (APIIDTT), Legado Gaia (LEGAIA), the Center for Research in Community Communication and Acción Colombiana por la Soberanía Ambiental.
In each country they crossed, the activists visited communities and traditional peoples to listen deeply to them and forge alliances.
“We planned this route to unite struggles across different territories that are defending life – voices that are never heard in spaces like this,” Cantarey says.
She draws a parallel between the group’s protest and a massacre that took place in Rio de Janeiro in October, when more than 100 people were killed in a favela raid that turned into the deadliest police operation in the country’s history.
“The same massacres that happened in Rio de Janeiro are carried out by the same State and the same corporations that destroy ecosystems and territories,” says Cantarey.
10 November | 11:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Highlights:
COP30 officially kicks off today – but there was plenty of buildup late last week to get you caught up on.
Leaders and representatives of more than 50 countries gathered in Belém last Thursday and Friday for the World Leaders Climate Action Summit. The heads of state of the world’s three biggest emitters – China, the U.S. and India – were absent, however, with the U.S. skipping COP30 entirely as it serves its notice to leave the Paris Agreement by January.
The biggest news from this summit was the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) on Thursday. This new fund will reward as many as 74 countries with up to USD 4 billion per year for successfully ending deforestation.
The Brazilian COP30 presidency also published the ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap’ for climate finance on Wednesday, which outlines a pathway to scale up this funding to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035, as agreed at COP29.
As of now, only 106 of the 194 signatories to the Paris Agreement have submitted their updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to 2035. The deadline was almost nine months ago.
So, on to COP30 itself. In case you missed it, here’s what to expect from the event.
Finally…
…thank you for reading this story. Our mission is to make them freely accessible to everyone, no matter where they are.
We believe that lasting and impactful change starts with changing the way people think. That’s why we amplify the diverse voices the world needs to hear – from local restoration leaders to Indigenous communities and women who lead the way.
By supporting us, not only are you supporting the world’s largest knowledge-led platform devoted to sustainable and inclusive landscapes, but you’re also becoming a vital part of a global community that’s working tirelessly to create a healthier world for us all.
Every donation counts – no matter the amount. Thank you for being a part of our mission.
Want to get the latest climate and environmental stories in your inbox? Sign up here to stay in the loop.
