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.
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22 November | 17:15 BRT | By Eden Flaherty [Updated 24 November]
Day 12 highlights:
After a two-week slog, and an all night meeting, negotiators have managed to agree a key deal at COP30 – but it’s not one for the history books.
The main point of contention was a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, backed by a coalition of more than 80 countries but strongly opposed by others, most notably Saudi Arabia.
The result was a text that offered no clear path to achieving the COP28 promise to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems” in a “just, orderly and equitable manner.”
This will be a bitter disappointment to many.
There was also no clear progress on halting deforestation, despite this being the ‘rainforest COP’. Again, this will be a heavy blow to those that have been campaigning for greater forest protections.
As Special Envoy Juan Carlos of Panama said yesterday: “If we cannot agree on ending deforestation here in the Amazon, the question is, then where?”
There was some progress on adaptation finance, but it too fell short of expectations.
Wealthy countries agreed to $120 billion per year by 2035 to help climate-vulnerable countries adapt to climate change – less and later than previously indicated.
Before COP30 started, countries were supposed to submit their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which are plans on how to cut emissions and adapt to climate change.
Not all were submitted, and those that were didn’t do enough to keep the planet’s temperature under the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement.
Addressing this, the text agreed in Belém called on countries to ensure the “full implementation of NDCs while striving to do better” and created an “accelerator” programme, which will report back at COP31 next year.
One part of today’s deal that is being considered a mild success is the inclusion of the ‘just transition’, which campaigners have been pushing for.
A just transition refers to a shift to a greener economy that is fair and inclusive, offering new opportunities for workers in polluting industries and ensuring no one is left behind.
However, while a step in the right direction, the text in Belém falls short of addressing the exploitation of the critical minerals being used for the green transition.
There are still some less decisive, but no less important, decisions being passed in Belém and we will be publishing a full wrap up next week.
22 November | 08:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
We have entered the first day of overtime at COP30 – a far cry from host country Brazil’s hopes of an early deal.
Talks ran late into the night on Friday but no new draft texts have materialised.
The major sticking point is the inclusion of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, with wording on adaptation financing also still reportedly being negotiated.
A closing plenary is scheduled for 10:00 local time, but what that will bring is as of yet unknown.
Yesterday did see the close of one deal: the hosting of COP31. Turkey will be host and president, with Australia taking on a vice-presidency role, which includes being “president of negotiations.”
21 November | 17:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Day 11 highlights:
As the final scheduled day of COP30 draws to a close without an agreement in sight, it looks like delegates have a long weekend ahead of them.
Talks are ongoing, but divides over some of the major issues seem to be as big as ever.
Earlier in the day at an informal stocktaking plenary, COP30 president André Aranha Corrêa do Lago called on countries to come together, saying: “We can only strengthen the Paris Accord if we have consensus in Belém.”
“Let’s not stress the divides now in the moments we have left to reach an agreement,” he continued.
“We need to preserve [the Paris Accord]… in the spirit of cooperation, not in the spirit of who is going to win or is going to lose, because we know that… if we don’t strengthen it, everybody will lose.”
A second draft of the ‘Global Mutirão’ cover text was published this morning along with a number of other draft proposals.
Reactions were not positive.
The biggest criticisms were of the omission of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels.
Petrostates have been accused of blocking progress and strong-arming host nation Brazil, with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres singling our Saudi Arabia as being obstructive, according to the Guardian.
There was also concern over wording around adaptation finance, with the text calling for ‘efforts’ to triple the money available and ‘urging’ developed countries to increase climate finance.
One area that has seen some positive feedback is on the inclusion of a reference to the ‘just transition.’
Another draft text is expected late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Today also saw Colombia and 23 other countries announce the “Belém declaration on the transition away from fossil fuels,” which criticised today’s draft text and called for a viable plan to phase out coal, oil and gas.
Special Envoy Juan Carlos of Panama said at the announcement: “The political text released is simply unacceptable. It is not a serious basis for negotiations.”
Colombia and the Netherlands also announced that they will co-host the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, in April next year.
21 November | 15:00 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
There are 170 young negotiators from 75 countries supporting the negotiations at COP30, supported by the Youth Negotiators Academy.
They have been following every track – not formally negotiating, but taking on leading roles to help shape the outcomes.
Marie-Claire Graf, co-founder of the initiative, feels that some attention has been diverted away from the negotiations.
She has also noticed the use of shuttle diplomacy: when two or more parties that disagree negotiate through a third party acting as a mediator to find an agreement.
“I know where it comes from, because you really want to get an agreement, but it’s also an erosion of the process itself,” she says, adding that this has been common practice at climate COPs in recent years.
With less than 12 hours left until the negotiations are scheduled to end (though they are likely to run over time), Graf still expects an ambitious outcome.
“We expect strong language for a fossil fuel phase-out and that we are not backtracking from the language that has been in place for many years,” she says.
“This is supposed to be the COP of action, of implementation, and we can’t do it without a just transition and without finance – especially adaptation finance.”
Axel Eriksson, another youth negotiator and a member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change, says he expected more inclusion of Indigenous Peoples, especially as this COP is being held in the Amazon.
While the negotiations have been difficult, he still expects countries to keep “1.5 degrees alive” and arrive at an agreement that protects the most vulnerable groups.
“For today, what I would expect is that countries come together and realize we don’t have much time left, that the issues we are dealing with are urgent – that we can’t postpone them to the next COP.”
21 November | 10:45 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Colombia has announced the “Belém declaration on the transition away from fossil fuels,” a coalition of 24 countries calling for a workable plan to phase out coal, oil and gas.
Irene Vélez, Colombia’s environmental minister, said: “This COP cannot end without a clear, just and equitable roadmap for the global phase-out of fossil fuels.”
“This declaration is grounded in a simple scientific truth: Fossil fuels are the primary driver of the climate crisis and keeping the 1.5 or 1.7 degrees objectives requires a fast, fair and fully financed phase out.”
Countries that support the ‘Belém declaration on the transition away from fossil fuels’ are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.
Speaking at the announcement, Vanuatu minister Ralph Regenvanu said: “We came here to Belém to see the UNFCCC come up with a clear action plan, a clear roadmap for transitioning away and phasing out of fossil fuels. Unfortunately, on this day, which is the final day, we do not have that yet.”
“We need to build this group of states that is going to make this happen, regardless of what happens here at UNFCCC.”
In an impassioned intervention, Panama’s Climate Envoy Juan Carlos Monterrey said that today’s draft texts are “not a serious basis for negotiations.”
“Failing to name the causes of the climate crisis is not compromise, it’s denial. It’s criminal.
“A climate text that cannot mention fossil fuels is a climate text that refuses to speak the truth,” he said.
Maisa Rojas, Minister for the Environment of Chile, clarified the declaration’s simple ask: “We agreed to transitioning away from fossil fuels, and everyone knows that requires a plan.
“And that’s all we want, a plan to act on what we committed to two years ago.”
Colombia also announced that, in alliance with the Netherlands, they will host the first international conference on the just transition away from fossil fuels next April in Santa Marta.
This was originally announced earlier in the year following work on a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The conference will be complementary to the UNFCCC and identify “legal, economic, and social pathways” to phase out fossil fuels, according to Vélez.
“Colombia calls on the world, all countries and nations, to endorse the Belém Declaration and to join us in Santa Marta,” Vélez said.
“The phase-out of fossil fuel is not only necessary but inevitable.
“What the world must decide now is how and how fast.”
21 November | 09:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
New drafts were released in the early hours of this morning, including a revised version of the key ‘Global Mutirão’ cover text.
However, it contains no mention of fossil fuels or a roadmap to phase them out.
Despite not being on the official agenda, this has been one of the primary issues at COP30 and seems to be coming to a head on the final day.
Petrostates have allegedly been blocking any inclusion of a roadmap in the new texts, the Guardian reported yesterday.
But a group of 29 countries has written to the presidency rejecting the latest draft text, saying: “We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.”
“Anything less would inevitably be seen as a step backward.”
The pressure is especially high after a fire brought talks to an early close yesterday afternoon, including the cancellation of a planned plenary.
The venue did eventually reopen at 20:40 local time, with the organisers saying: “Following a comprehensive safety assessment, we confirm that the venue has been thoroughly inspected and deemed fully safe.”
“We continue to monitor the condition of all individuals who require medical attention and remain in close coordination with health services.”
The UNFCCC also announced that all plenary sessions today will be open to “all parties and observers and will be fully live-streamed, and all usual measures to keep parties, observers and media informed of negotiations will continue.”
This looks like a response to complaints by some observers about a lack of transparency and inclusivity from the COP30 presidency.
There will be an informal stock-take plenary this morning with updates on the state of negotiations, with closing plenaries this evening, where parties will theoretically adopt the draft decisions.
20 November | 19:15 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Day 10 highlights:
Today was more eventful than usual at COP30 in Belém.
Turkey was revealed as next year’s climate conference host, with Australia set to take the reins on the actual negotiations.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to compromise in order to reach a “fair outcome, concrete on funding adaptation, credible on emission cuts, [and] bankable on finance.”
“No delegation will leave Belém with everything it wants, but every delegation has a duty to reach a balanced deal,” he said.
Then everything was derailed when a fire broke out in the country pavilions of the Blue Zone at around 14:00 local time, leading to an evacuation of the entire venue.
Thirteen individuals have been treated for smoke inhalation and their condition is being monitored, according to a statement from the COP30 Presidency.
Delegates have been told that they will not be able to re-enter the venue until at least 20:00 local time.
The negotiations had already missed one self-imposed deadline on Wednesday, and disruption from the fire makes it likely they will miss another today.
There is still no new draft for the “Global Mutirão” cover text, nor any indication of which items were set to go to plenary this evening.
Earlier in the day, Guterres said: “We are down to the wire, and the world is watching Belém.”
With everything now resting on the final day of the talks, his words seem a little more prescient than he probably intended.
20 November | 17:45 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
One of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries is a tiny Pacific island nation measuring just 26 square kilometers: Tuvalu.
This low-lying country is facing the prospect of disappearing entirely beneath the waves, with local sea levels now virtually guaranteed to rise by at least 40 centimeters by 2100 – even if global heating is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The country is already grappling with king tides, water scarcity, extreme weather events and food and livelihood insecurity.
That’s why Tuvalu unveiled its national adaptation plan today during a panel on building resilience at the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
Faatupu Simeti, an officer from the country’s Climate Department, said the plan consists of short-, medium-, and long-term actions around six key areas: soils and coastal areas, water resources, biodiversity, agriculture, human health, and natural disasters.
“Because Tuvalu is really impacted by climate change, we need to prioritize what comes first,” she explained. “We can’t do everything at once, and we don’t have the money to do so.”
“Although adaptation is important, it doesn’t address all the damage Tuvalu is already facing.”
Simeti said the country will need an estimated USD 60–61 million to implement its top 20 adaptation measures.
“Without finance, without money, we cannot adopt this national adaptation plan,” she added.
While adaptation negotiations are difficult, “we still hope for the best,” Simeti concluded.
Tuvalu’s director of climate change, Jamie Ovia, said that based on the projections displayed on the screen, many Tuvaluan officials will eventually see their homes flooded as sea levels rise.
“That’s why we also travel long distances and bring our stories to COPs,” Ovia said.
20 November | 16:45 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
The fire has been contained with limited damage, but the venue will not reopen until at least 20:00 local time, according to the UNFCCC.
The summit organizers also told attendees that the venue is now under the authority of the host country, Brazil, and no longer considered a Blue Zone.
No serious injuries have been reported, and the cause of the fire is still unknown.
This is a significant setback for the negotiations, which are often pushed for time under normal circumstances.
It’s unclear whether the talks will resume at all today, but even if they do, an early deal now looks very unlikely.
20 November | 14:40 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
A fire has broken out in the Blue Zone of COP30, forcing an evacuation of the venue, our correspondent in Belém, Cândida Schaedler, reports.
Videos online show a pavilion in flames and smoke pouring from the venue. Attendees are now waiting on the streets outside.
Security personnel blew on whistles and instructed people to leave as word of the fire spread.
The status of the fire is not currently clear. Nor is it clear when, or if, talks will resume.
We will update our live coverage as soon as we know more.
20 November | 12:15 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Speaking in Belém, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres addressed some of the summit’s most contentious issues including finance, emission targets in nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and a fossil fuel transition.
Guterres focused heavily on the “inevitable” temporary overshoot of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“We know what that means: more heat and hunger, more disasters and displacements, and the higher risk of crossing climate tipping points, unleashing irreversible damage,” Guterres said.
“But we can still bend temperatures back below 1.5 degrees before the end of this century if we act now, to make this overshoot as small, short and safe as possible.”
On adaptation, Guterres reminded delegates that it is already an everyday reality for many people living on the front line of the climate crisis.
“It is the difference between rebuilding and being swept away. Between replanting and starving. Between staying on ancestral land and losing it forever,” he said.
More than 100 countries have now submitted their NDCs, which are a country’s plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change under the Paris Agreement.
But Guterres said these were “far from being aligned with the 1.5 degrees goal.”
“Those national plans must be a floor, not a ceiling. We must move much faster, with a drastic cut on emissions,” he said.
Guterres also welcomed “calls for a just transition mechanism and the growing coalition asking for clarity on the transition away from fossil fuels,” in what sounds like a reference to the more than 80-strong group backing a proposed fossil fuel roadmap.
“None of this can happen without [finance] that it is predictable, accessible and guaranteed,” he said, after calling for a tripling of adaptation funding in the next five years.
Addressing ministers and negotiators directly, Guterres said: “1.5 degrees must be your only red line.
“This is the hour for leadership. Be bold. Follow the science.
“Put people before profit and please keep your eyes on the finish line.”
20 November | 11:15 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
We’re entering the final stretch as the penultimate day of COP30 gets underway.
Or at least the penultimate scheduled day – no UN climate conference has finished on time since 2003.
Host Brazil has tried to avoid overrun this year by splitting the talks in two – trying to reach an agreement on the most contentious issues by Wednesday, leaving Thursday and Friday to wrap up the rest of the agenda.
Unfortunately, that mid-week deal failed to materialise, highlighting the deep divides that remain between some of the parties.
Despite this, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remained optimistic, telling journalists last night: “I am so happy that I leave here certain that my negotiators will have the best result a COP could have ever offered to the Planet Earth.”
The COP30 presidency now aims to “adopt those draft decisions ready for adoption” in a plenary this afternoon, reports Carbon Brief. It is not yet clear which items this would include.
20 November | 08:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Last night it was revealed that Turkey will host the next UN climate conference, COP31, scheduled for November 2026 in the city of Antalya.
Australia had been competing to host the summit but reached a compromise that will see them assume the COP31 presidency for “the purpose negotiations.”
This division of responsibility is unusual, and how exactly it will work is yet to be seen, with the two countries reportedly hashing out the details in Brazil.
As part of the deal, there will be a pre-COP summit held in the Pacific, an important detail for Australia.
One of Australia’s motives for seeking to host COP “has always been to elevate the views and the interests of our pacific brothers and sisters,” Australian climate minister Chris Bowen told a media briefing.
If an agreement hadn’t been reached, COP31 would have defaulted to Bonn, Germany.
“That would mean 12 months with a lack of leadership, no COP president in place, no plan. That would be irresponsible for multilateralism and this challenged environment,” said Bowen.
“We didn’t want that to happen, hence it was important to strike a deal with Turkey.”
19 November | 17:30 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Day 9 highlights:
Today saw the arrival of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Belém, which many hoped would inject new vigour into the negotiations.
One of Lula’s main priorities has been a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, which now has the support of 84 countries, according to 350.org.
The agreement to “transition away” from fossil fuels was first made at COP28 in Dubai, but while it was a historic step forward, it fell short of calling for a phase out and didn’t actually require countries to take action.
Talks at COP29 in Baku last year did little to move the agreement forward, with some oil-producing nations accused of obstructionism.
This year, the transition wasn’t put on the formal agenda – or even the list to be discussed in presidential consultations – but that hasn’t stopped it being one of the hottest topics at the talks.
A new Global Mutirão draft text was expected this morning, but as of 17:30 BST it has yet to appear.
This makes today’s mid-week deadline for the Belém Political Package look like a distant dream.
As of today, 49 agenda items have been agreed, with more than 50 still under negotiation, according to data from Carbon Brief.
19 November | 15:30 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
There has been no shortage of side events at COP30 focusing on defending the ocean and promoting climate justice.
Panels and report launches have highlighted the effects of rising ocean temperatures on marine ecosystems and the daily lives of artisanal fishers, shellfish gatherers – and even surfers.
João Malavolta is the co-founder of EcoSurf, a Brazilian movement that works at the intersection of environment and surfing.
What began as a project to clean up trash from a beach in the state of São Paulo when he was 17 has since turned into an organization engaging with climate justice, the environment, and sports for over 25 years.
Malavolta is here at the world’s largest climate summit to defend his workplace – the ocean – and to launch the Surf Manifesto for Climate and the Future of the Ocean, built from a survey of more than 500 surfers in Brazil.
The manifesto calls for protecting and restoring key ecosystems, advancing the energy transition and safeguarding ancestral knowledge and traditional coastal peoples.
“There’s an understanding of the surfer as an environmental agent, because they know nature a little better than most people,” he explains. “It’s a sport that depends on nature.”
Malavolta has a degree in journalism – a career he chose to communicate his own environmental initiative. He personally designed the layout of the manifesto and came to Belém with 2,000 copies in his suitcase – most of which have been handed out to negotiators, researchers and civil society members.
“We tried to get into the official agenda, but we couldn’t,” he says, explaining that he proposed events connecting climate, sports and conservation in the official COP30 program.
“It wasn’t for a lack of interlocutors, but I felt the absence of a major sports ambassador championing the issue and wanting to put it on the table.”
He feels that support from a high-profile surfer would greatly help bring visibility to the cause, but he’s also critical of the prevailing mindset of the sport – a community he describes as still quite conservative and detached from environmental issues.
As a result, he says it’s important to occupy spaces like the COP to hold and expand this discussion.
“The surf industry is extremely polluting – it’s a dirty industry that doesn’t seek alternatives. Surfers are consumers at their core. Look at the paradox we’re dealing with.”
19 November | 14:30 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Trade measures are one of the major sticking points at this year’s COP and are part of the Belem Political Package that Brazil hopes to agree by tonight.
At the heart of this friction is the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which comes into effect next year.
CBAM is a new tariff scheme designed to put a price on carbon-intensive goods – such as concrete, electricity and steel – entering the EU market.
EU manufacturers of these goods currently pay around €80 per metric ton for carbon emissions under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
CBAM would therefore ‘level the playing field’ for imports and eliminate ‘carbon leakage’, which according to the European Commission is:
“The transfer of CO2 emissions from one country to another when, due to strict climate policies, companies relocate their production to countries with weaker emission constraints.”
Carbon leakage can lead to an increase in global greenhouse gas emissions despite local regulations.
By applying a charge on carbon, wherever goods are made, CBAM aims to stop this.
However, some countries in the Global South that export carbon-intensive goods have called the scheme protectionist, claiming CBAM is a ‘unilateral trade measure’.
India, whose heavy industries rely on coal-fired power, has been particularly vocal in its opposition.
Its iron and steel exporters could pay an estimated €301 million in CBAM fees, according to The Hindu.
The EU maintains that CBAM is a climate tool, not a trade measure, and has rejected calls for exemptions.
EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said at a press conference on Monday: “It is essential, for climate reasons, that we continue with ETS and we continue with CBAM and both go hand in hand.”
“[CBAM] is meant as part of our climate toolbox, making sure that emissions don’t leak out of the European Union
“The best CBAM is one that doesn’t make any money.”
19 November | 10:45 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
A decade after the Paris Agreement, nine in 10 coastal and island countries are now including measures to protect the ocean in their national climate plans, according to a new report launched at COP30 by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
The ocean is by far the world’s largest carbon sink, and protecting it will be key to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
However, a separate report published in October revealed that coral reefs have reached a climate tipping point – meaning severe degradation is now inevitable and irreversible. This will affect the entire marine ecosystem.
According to the data presented by WRI, ocean-based climate action is on the rise in the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted by coastal and island countries.
While 62 percent of NDCs included such measures in 2015, this figure had increased to 73 percent in 2022 and 92 percent today – with 61 of 66 NDCs now including ocean-based actions.
On the other hand, countries are still not using the ocean to its full mitigation potential, with previous research showing that it can deliver up to 35 percent of the emission reductions needed to limit global heating to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The WRI report says the most effective ocean-based climate actions include phasing out offshore oil and gas, decarbonizing maritime transport and aquatic food systems, and expanding offshore renewable energy. Yet these sectors account for only 12.1 percent of all ocean actions in current NDCs.
The vast majority of NDCs also fail to address equity – meaning the recognition, inclusion and fair treatment of groups experiencing vulnerability or marginalization.
Only 13 percent of ocean-based climate actions explicitly address equity, with countries in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean incorporating this issue the most.
19 November | 10:30 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
We are now half way through the high-level ‘ministerial week’ and inching closer to the scheduled end of COP30.
A new ‘Global Mutirão’ draft text is expected this morning as the COP30 presidency aims to approve the Belém Political Package by the end of the day.
The package would include the ‘big four’ – trade measures, provision of finance, emissions reporting, and the 1.5 degrees Celsius target – and associated issues.
Today will also see the return of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Belém.
Lula has been pushing for COP30 outcomes to include a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, which saw a surge in support yesterday with more than 80 countries now publicly backing it.
However, in a press conference held yesterday evening, COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago said: “Most countries are either very favourable [to the roadmap], or it is a red line,” something that negotiators think can’t be surpassed.
18 November | 17:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Day 8 highlights:
COP30 host Brazil continues to make unorthodox moves in an attempt to advance the negotiations.
At the start of the summit, the unusual step was taken to exclude four divisive topics from the formal agenda: trade measures, provision of finance, emissions reporting, and the role of nationally determined contributions on the 1.5 degrees Celsius target.
The so-called ‘big four’ were omitted to avoid holding up the negotiations and are instead being dealt with in presidential consultations.
In a second unexpected move, last night Brazil urged nations to finalize “a significant part” of the negotiations by this Tuesday evening for approval on Wednesday – effectively splitting the final COP30 outcome in two.
The early agreement would cover the ‘Belém Political Package’, which includes the ‘big four’ and other key issues related to them, leaving the remainder of the week to hash out less contentious agenda items.
Seen as a step towards this, a draft “Global Mutirão” text was published earlier today, which is essentially a peak at the COP30 cover text.
While the draft text did include a reference to a fossil fuel roadmap, more than a dozen high level ministers gathered at a media briefing to call for stronger commitment.
Marshall Islands climate envoy Tina Stege said: “Today we bring together many diverse interests who all support the call for a roadmap for a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.”
“The current reference in the text is weak and is presented as an option. It must be strengthened and it must be adopted,” she continued.
Germany’s environmental minister Carsten Schneider said “most” of Europe supports the roadmap and called for it to be included in the final text.
Eighty-two countries have now declared their official support for the roadmap, according to infoAmazonia.
Other reactions to the draft text have been mixed.
Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns at 350.org, said in a statement: “This is not yet the climate justice package the world needs, but there are the building blocks.”
Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy lead at Oil Change International, said: “Options presented on fossil fuels in this new text are wildly unacceptable and a blatant dereliction of duty.”
Adding, on a slightly more conciliatory note, that “the text does provide some strong options to ensure rich countries pay their climate debts.”
How the texts of the political package will look by tonight, and whether negotiations will hit their newly-imposed deadline, is yet to be seen.
COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago is expected to announce its progress at a media briefing this evening.
18 November | 15:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
The first draft of this year’s cover text has been published, combining a vast range of opinions and ideas from the almost 200 parties at the negotiating table.
The nine-page document, titled “Global Mutirão: uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change,” offers numerous options to address the ‘big four’ issues: trade measures, provision of finance, country targets and emissions reporting.
The document expands on the COP30 president’s Sunday statement and signals Brazil’s desire to finalize the core issues by the self-imposed early deadline.
Several options on trade were outlined, including the possibility of creating a summit under the UN Secretary-General to deal with climate-related trade disputes.
On finance, one of the options in the draft text is a ministerial round table on delivering the ‘Baku Finance Goal’ – a promised $1.3 trillion a year of climate finance to Global South countries by 2035.
Other suggestions included establishing a “three-year Belem work program” or a “Belem Global De-Risking and Project Preparation and Development Facility.”
When it came to country targets, one option was to move to an annual review of nationally determined contributions, up from the five-year cycle agreed at COP26, to “address the ambition and implementation gaps.”
Some of the topics also include an option for “no text,” which essentially means it would be cut from the final considerations.
It’s important to remember that this draft text is exactly that – a draft – and includes multiple, often contradictory, options.
What the final text will look like is anyone’s guess, but the fact that Brazil is pushing forward shows their desire to get an early agreement passed.
18 November | 12:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Yesterday, we reported on the new special envoy for family farming and the increasing importance of food and agriculture to the negotiations.
However, that new-found focus has also attracted the attention of industrial agribusiness, with a joint investigation by DeSmog and the Guardian finding more than 302 big agriculture lobbyists taking part in this year’s COP.
That is a 71% increase compared to Cop27, but falls short of the record numbers that turned out in Dubai for COP28, according to the publications.
Industrial agribusiness has been trying to shape the narrative at COP, the special envoy for family farming Paulo Petersen told our correspondent Cândida Schaedler.
They are arguing that “everything is agro,” which fails to distinguish between industrial food systems and alternatives like family farming, which have the potential to contribute to climate mitigation.
Industrial agriculture, like cattle ranching and soybean production, are some of the main drivers of deforestation in the Amazon, where this year’s COP is hosted, and also account for about a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Family farming, on the other hand, is “a type of work based on adjusting to the ecosystems themselves, producing for local markets or for self-consumption,” Petersen said.
18 November | 09:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Talks ran late into the night yesterday as countries attempted to reconcile key differences, but no significant progress was reported on climate commitments, trade measures or financial guarantees.
In a late-night letter, Brazil urged nations to finalize “a significant part” of the negotiations by Tuesday evening for approval on Wednesday.
One sticking point has been the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which will be phased in from January 2026.
CBAM puts a price on carbon-intensive goods, such as cement, electricity and fertilizer, that are imported into the EU.
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has stood firm that CBAM is a key tool to prevent “carbon leakage,” not a punitive trade measure.
But other countries, namely India and China, see this “unilateral trade measure” as an unfair overreach.
Another flashpoint is finance, with many Global South countries pushing for the Global North to fulfil their Article 9 commitment to “provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties with respect to both mitigation and adaptation.”
If you’re looking to learn more about financing a green future, there is still time to sign up for the 8th GLF Investment Case Symposium, taking place in Belém, Brazil, and online today.
Yesterday also saw South Korea pledge to wean itself off coal, which was lauded by many but deals a bitter blow to their major supplier Australia.
Kim Sung-hwan, South Korea’s Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, said in a statement: “We are demonstrating the Republic of Korea’s commitment to accelerating a just and clean energy transition.
“Through the [Powering Past Coal] Alliance, we will kickstart our coal phase-out, as well as help the Alliance advance the coal transition worldwide.”
17 November | 17:45 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Day 7 highlights:
The first day of the high-level ‘ministerial week’ is coming to a close.
Despite many people now believing that the Paris Agreement’s flagship 1.5 degrees Celsius goal will be missed, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell opened today’s negotiations by reiterating its importance:
“Negotiators are working around the clock. I commend the spirit of goodwill throughout week one.
“It reflects a widespread conviction that the Paris Agreement is humanity’s only way to survive this global climate crisis.”
But while conviction may be measured in hours, the actual progress of the talks is harder to pin down.
As it stands, more than 44 agenda items have been agreed, 17 shelved until next year, with the remaining 60 in various stages of completion, according to data from Carbon Brief.
Meanwhile, hundreds of human rights and environmental groups have signed an open letter to Stiell, accusing him of instigating a crackdown on demonstrators.
The letter states that Stiell’s demand for more security following a protest last Tuesday has created a “chilling effect and a feeling of unsafety for Indigenous Peoples, Environmental and other Human Rights Defenders, civil society and activists standing up for their rights.”
Momentum behind a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap is growing, according to a new analysis by 350.org. They found that the number of countries publicly backing it grew from one to 62 in just nine days.
Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns at 350.org, said in a statement: “President Lula has injected real momentum into a global roadmap to move away from fossil fuels.”
Fossil fuels aren’t part of the official COP30 agenda, and the ‘roadmap’ is a voluntary initiative by hosts Brazil.
On the COP30 sidelines, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) launched the Global Methane Status Report.
It showed that despite progress, methane emissions continue to rise and not enough is being done.
Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UNEP, said in a statement: “Reducing methane emissions is one of the most immediate and effective steps we can take to slow the climate crisis while protecting human health.”
On a more positive note, Denmark quietly announced a new goal to cut its CO2 pollution by between 82 and 85 percent by 2035 – the most ambitious carbon target in the Global North, according to the Guardian.
17 November | 14:30 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
For the first time ever, a UN climate conference has a special envoy for family farming – and food and agriculture have become more central to the negotiations than ever.
Agrifood systems account for about a third of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In Brazil, which is hosting COP30, the sector represents about 29 percent of emissions in 2024, according to Observatório do Clima. Meanwhile, changes in land and soil use, often attributable to the expansion of agriculture, accounts for 49 percent.
Traditional agribusiness, including cattle ranching, is one of the main drivers of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, where COP30 is being held. But at the same time, agriculture has immense potential to capture carbon, contributing to climate mitigation.
But how has agriculture become such a central issue at COP30 – especially family farming and alternative forms of production like agroecology and agroforestry systems?
Read the full article here.
17 November | 11:30 BRT | By Cândida Schaedler
Last week, countries were deadlocked over the issue of gender. Now, as the second and most decisive week of COP30 begins, civil society groups are hoping to see Afro-descendant women explicitly recognized as among the demographics most affected by the climate crisis.
If approved, this would be an unprecedented move in line with a landmark decision made at last year’s Biodiversity COP16.
The term ‘Afro-descendant’ refers to communities of the African diaspora – not only people forcibly taken from Africa and enslaved, but also those who have migrated to former European metropoles during and since colonial times.
The Gender Action Plan already mentions Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.
According to Ester Sena, climate and youth advisor at Geledés – Black Women’s Institute, the European Union has been one of the strongest opponents to the inclusion of Afro-descendants at COP30, arguing that this would set a precedent for other demographics.
“This argument doesn’t hold because no other groups have made such a request,” she points out.
“This stance is not new. At the Biodiversity COP16 in Cali, the EU also tried to block the inclusion of Afro-descendants in the text. It only backed down when governments and civil society publicly denounced the move as colonialist.”
“Now, in the [COP30] gender agenda, the same logic repeats itself: silence, obstruction and the delegitimization of Afro-descendant populations’ demands, justified by the claim that they do not represent a collective request,” says Sena.
But advocates are unfazed and still hold high expectations for the coming days of negotiations.
“We need to approve an ambitious text that guarantees rights and climate policies with gender and racial mainstreaming – and that consolidates the reference to Afro-descendant women in the document,” Sena concludes.
17 November | 11:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
As many as 9 out of 10 people want their governments to do more to tackle the climate crisis, but emissions are growing, the world is warming and climate-vulnerable countries aren’t getting the support they need.
The Global Landscapes Forum is moving from rhetoric to action at this year’s GLF climate conference, being held alongside COP30 in Belém, Brazil and online today:
GLF Climate 2025: A New Vision for Earth isn’t just a conference for policymakers – it’s a vital platform to unite the majority for action, far beyond the negotiating rooms in Belém.
We’re opening the doors for you to weigh in on the climate action the world needs. GLF Climate blends science with Indigenous and local knowledge and brings youth and women’s perspectives to the forefront.
This is your climate conference. Together, let’s forge a new vision for Earth and build a more just, equitable global movement for climate action.
Register and join online here.
17 November | 10:00 BRT | By Eden Flaherty
Welcome back to COP30, which is resuming after a much-needed day of rest.
The week has started with a bang after COP30 host Brazil released a five-page ‘summary note’ late last night addressing some of the trickiest issues of the talks so far.
It covers four key topics raised by parties at last week’s presidency consultations:
As well as synthesising key issues, the document also puts forward a range of possible “options” to tackle them.
According to the document, it is a “preliminary glimpse of where an overall package of outputs from the consultations could emerge.”
These options are highly varied in their scope and ambition, pointing to more divergence among the parties than the text’s claim of a “high degree” of alignment would lead you to believe.
For example, the options for financing include a three-year work programme and action plan or simply reaffirming the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29 and resolving to “accelerate implementation.”
From today, the professional negotiators will be taking a back seat as more senior ministers join for the ‘High-Level Segment’ of the negotiations.
As the UNFCCC put it, we’ll see talks go “from the technical to the political level.”
If you want to be part of the conversation, there’s still time to join GLF Climate 2025: A New Vision for Earth, happening today in Belém and online.
15 November | 17:00 BRT | By Ming Chun Tang
Day 6 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.
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