BELEM 2025 / COP30

➡️ COP30 - Belém, Brazil. 10 - 21 Nov 2025

The 30th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) will take place in Belém, a remote, underdeveloped, and poor region of the Brazilian Amazon.

Delegates from over 190 countries, NGOs, Indigenous representatives and Brazil's President Lula, alongside, COP President André Corrêa do Lago, will all take part in this year's high-stakes climate negotiations.

Jump straight to our resources on ➡️ COP30

Explore our comprehensive guides on -

• The Climate Crisis

• Previous COP Summits, including ➡️ COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan

• The Paris Agreement & the 1.5°C target

• Climate Crisis – Causes, Consequences & Solutions

• Loss & Damage Fund, Climate Debt & Climate Injustice

• Fossil Fuel Companies, Key Players, and Climate NGOs

Goals for COP30

With 2024 confirmed as the hottest year on record, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, and the massive financial shortfalls left by weak negotiations at COP29, this year's climate talks are pivotal.

All members of the UNCCC are expected to publish their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) outlining their national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate impacts.

The NDC Synthesis Report will be released just before the conference and will show how far we still have to go to limit global warming to 1.5°C. There will also be more detailed reporting on previously vague or non-binding National Adaptation Plans.

Progress will be limited unless the global climate investment gap can be closed and pledges are finally turned into real investments. This will prove even more difficult as militarisation grips the planet. NATO is planning on massively increasing contributions to the defence alliance and the EU Special Debts for Rearmament both siphon money for war mongering, posturing, and weapons stockpiling.

A new initiative, the Global Ethical Stocktake, launched by the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, and the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, aims to integrate ethical considerations into political decisions and technical measures.

Jaded by a lack of action in previous COPs, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with other influential figures such as Mary Robinson and Christiana Figueres, labelled current climate policy process "no longer fit for purpose."

André Corrêa do Lago – COP30 President-Delegate

This year's COP president holds higher hopes than others. He is a veteran climate diplomat and serves as the current Secretary for Climate, Energy, and Environment at the Brazilian Ministry of External Affairs.

He has worked with Brazil's diplomatic corps since 1982 and has represented Brazil in similar negotiations, including as chief negotiator at Rio+20 and COP28 and COP29.

In a positive initial call to action, he has called on all stakeholders in the climate negotiations process to "act decisively in the face of climate urgency through an ambitious and integrated Action Agenda at COP30."

Brazil - A Controversial Host

The location of this year's climate summit is highly controversial and has been labelled a COP built on deforestation - the very environment Brazil has pledged to protect. Rather than addressing the concerns, classic greenwashing terms like ‘sustainable’ are being used to describe the 8-mile road, which will cut through the Amazon rainforest.

The new four-lane highway will destroy thousands of acres of protected rainforest, fragment the ecosystem, disrupt the movement of wildlife, affect the livelihoods of local communities, and will be inaccessible to those who live on either side of the highway. It will, however, have bike lanes and solar-powered lights!

The lack of infrastructure in the area means that more than 30 large-scale construction projects will be taking place to accommodate and prepare for the 50,000 expected visitors. The port is being redeveloped for cruise ships, and $81 million will be spent on expanding the airport to double its current capacity.

After three climate conferences in countries with restrictions on protests, Amazonian leaders and social movements are wary that their participation may be discounted and silenced. Since February, Indigenous groups have been occupying the Secretary of Education and blocking roads that cut through their territories. The protests have already begun.

Regarding fossil fuels, Brazil is no climate leader. Their vast mining, oil, and agrobusiness sectors mean that Brazil is responsible for more than 4% of total global emissions. In 2023, they emitted 2.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases - the world's fifth worst polluter.

In this country of deep inequalities, the poor are disproportionately affected by climate change, including sea level rise, heat waves, and erratic rainfall.

A new bill which could dismantle Brazil's environmental license framework is currently under discussion. It would ease restrictions on oil exploration and road development in the Amazon. A self-licensing process would allow fossil fuel and construction companies to act with impunity and avoid the need for impact studies and mitigation measures. The bill is still pending approval, but it sets a worrying precedent for the upcoming conference.

Estimates suggest that up to 60 billion barrels of oil may exist in the Brazilian Amazon. If burned, they could emit 24 billion tonnes of CO2 - more than Brazil's emissions over the past 11 years. The expansion of the fossil fuel industry seriously contradicts the Brazilian government's climate narrative and threatens the country's credibility at COP30.

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Stay tuned for further updates on events.

Author: Rachael Mellor 24.06.25 licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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