Cop30 in Belém
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) begins today in Belém, Brazil, bringing together nearly 200 countries to debate how the world can still meet its climate goals.
A short history lesson.
“COP” stands for Conference of the Parties which is the main decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This was first agreed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The first COP took place in Berlin in 1995, but the one most people remember is COP21 in Paris (2015), when countries signed the Paris Agreement, pledging to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C.
Since then, COPs have been both diplomatic milestones and sometimes frustration points, from Glasgow’s pledges to phase down coal (COP26) to Dubai’s contested debate over fossil fuels (COP28). Now, 30 years after the first summit, the talks return to Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon.
What happens at a COP summit?
For two weeks, negotiators, ministers, scientists, campaigners and business leaders descend on the host city to talk all things climate. Official negotiations run alongside events, youth summits and protests. The goal? To turn global promises into action plans. Countries report progress on emissions cuts, revisit their targets (known as Nationally Determined Contributions), and debate how to finance adaptation in developing nations. Agreements are reached by consensus – meaning every word can be discussed and debated (often meaning a late night for everyone involved!).
So why now and why Brazil?
Hosting COP30 is a symbolic moment for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who’s positioning Brazil as a climate leader after years of deforestation under his predecessor. According to The Guardian, Lula aims to demonstrate that protecting forests and pursuing development can happen together in a “fair and planned way”. Belém, a gateway to the Amazon, is both an emblem of what’s at stake and a stage for Lula to show that protecting forests and pursuing development can go hand in hand. It also comes at an important time: global emissions remain high and countries are increasingly feeling the pressure to keep warming below 1.5°C.
The politics around it.
Each world leader has their own priorities. The UK’s PM Keir Starmer has defended his government’s plans for a “green economy” ahead of the talks, while the US, China and EU are increasingly encouraged to deepen their commitments and deliver the funding poorer nations were promised. Meanwhile, oil-producing countries are pushing to keep fossil fuels on the table. The Independent reports that Brazil itself is currently experiencing an oil boom, with state oil major Petrobras granted new licences to explore off the Amazon coast. Behind the speeches, the challenge remains the same: bridging the gap between ambition and reality.