The 30th edition of the annual Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is currently taking place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21. The President of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, a veteran Brazilian diplomat, formally opened the conference, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised that Belém would be the “Cop of Truth”.
What is COP30, and why in Belém?
The UNFCCC was launched in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, and 197 countries and the European Union signed it before it came into force in 1994, making it one of the largest multilateral bodies in the UN system. The UNFCCC launched COP as the body responsible for decision-making on the execution of the commitments made by countries to confront climate change. The first COP (COP1) took place in Berlin, Germany, in March 1995.
At COP meetings, nations assess their progress, revise pledges (such as NDCs or Nationally Determined Contributions), and discuss innovative ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming. To help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change and transition toward cleaner economies, COP also provides an opportunity to agree on climate finance, technology transfer, and adaptation support.
The primary reason for hosting COP30 in Belém is to highlight the important role of the Amazon rainforest in global climate stability and to shift international attention toward protecting forests, biodiversity, and indigenous communities. Belém lies on the edge of the Amazon Basin, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, which is vital for stabilising the planet’s climate through carbon absorption and supporting vast biodiversity.
What is on the agenda at COP30?
- New 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)
Countries are required to submit “next generation” climate plans targeting 2035. Only 13 countries submitted theirs before the deadline. India hasn’t submitted its updated climate target yet. According to the report, the NDCs submitted by 64 parties—accounting for 30% of global emissions in 2019—fall short of the carbon reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C. A 60% reduction is needed by 2035 to reach this target, but the submitted NDCs are projected to deliver only a 17% decrease by then.
- Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF)
The TFFF is a mechanism to provide long-term, predictable financing to countries that safeguard and sustainably manage their tropical forests. It could support over 70 tropical forest countries, which together hold over 1 billion hectares of moist tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests. This represents one of the largest-scale forest finance innovations to date. Brazil has set a $125 billion goal for the TFFF, with an initial target of raising $10 billion from governments and philanthropies. This is expected to catalyse more funding from corporate, private, and charitable sources.
- Fossil-fuel phase-out
During COP26, COP27, and COP28, countries pledged to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that do not address energy poverty or support a just transition. A roadmap to operationalise that pledge is being developed at COP30 in Belém. The plan includes preventing public financing for fossil fuels, phasing out subsidies, stopping new coal, oil, and gas licenses, and overseeing a fair transition for workers. The phase-out is not yet on schedule, as emissions are still rising, and according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), fossil fuel use may still peak only after 2030 under existing policies.
- Climate finance reform
Climate finance reforms are changes in the global financial system, institutions, and policies to make climate funding more available, accessible, and affordable. COP30 will concentrate on improving transparency, restructuring multilateral development banks, and developing new investment tools in order to better finance climate action. With a call for specific actions and commitments on both new and current finance goals, discussions will include topics like closing the implementation gap, guaranteeing more grants rather than loans, and enhancing adaptation finance.
Countries presented a new “Global Climate Finance Framework” under the COP29 accord, which called for raising USD 5-7 trillion a year by 2030 to support the low-carbon transition.
- Forests, biodiversity and indigenous leadership
COP30 is a crucial time to demonstrate coordinated action in order to stop and reverse deforestation, increase restoration, promote Indigenous rights, and unlock transformative funding for nature. Biodiversity protection is framed not just as a separate goal but as integrated with climate mitigation and adaptation, and the TFFF will provide long-term finance for tropical forest protection, with IPCLs and biodiversity goals built into its design.
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) are acknowledged as crucial stewards of biodiversity; the summit emphasises that protecting their land and tenure rights promotes ecosystem health and forest protection.
What progress has been made since COP29?
- Renewable energy growth
- Record capacity additions in 2024: Global renewable power capacity grew by approximately 582 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, equivalent to about a 15.1% gain over the previous year. Meeting the target by 2030 will require an annual growth of 16.6% from 2025 to 2030.
- Dominance of solar & wind power: Solar photovoltaic and wind technologies account for almost all new renewable additions; for instance, solar alone increased by more than 32% in 2024, adding around 452 GW.
- Targeting to triple capacity by 2030 remains challenging: Even with rapid development, the target of reaching 11,000 GW of renewable energy by 2030 (from 4,400 GW at the end of 2024) is still not being met. It will take yearly additions of about 1,000 GW+ to do that.
- Electric mobility
- Global electric-vehicle (EV) sales increase significantly in 2024: Adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is gaining serious momentum around the world, with more than 17 million units, which is up 25 % year-on-year.
- Emerging markets are gaining momentum; in early 2024, EV sales increased by 50% or more in a number of non-major economies, demonstrating that the trend isn’t limited to wealthy countries.
- Despite expansion, a number of gaps still exist, including the rollout of infrastructure (such as charging stations), regional adoption lags (particularly in India and portions of Asia/Africa), and market discrepancies. Also, it can fall short with 1.5-degree Celsius climate pathways.
- Article 6.4 carbon market mechanism
- Article 6.4 is a new carbon market mechanism for the creation and exchange of carbon credits from project activities across countries.
- Operationalisation has progressed since COP29; the UNFCCC’s register, accreditation procedures, and activity-cycle procedures are either fully implemented or being phased in.
What’s at stake at COP30?
COP30 is the first summit where countries must present new 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). The current NDCs place the world on track for 2.4-2.8 degrees Celsius of warming, which is far beyond the Paris agreement goal (below 2 degrees Celsius). Global CO2 emissions reached historic highs in 2023 and stayed high in 2024–2025, despite the fact that emissions must decrease by 42% by 2030 to maintain 1.5°C. Many of the biggest polluters in the world have not matched their NDCs with 1.5°C pathways, including the United States, China, India, and some of the Gulf countries.
Also, the underdeveloped and vulnerable nations require an estimated $215-387 billion annually by 2030, but the actual amount they receive is less than half of it. In the history of COPs, for the first time, the countries are supporting a full fossil fuel phaseout, but it is one of the hardest plans to execute.
In the history of international climate diplomacy, COP30 represents a pivotal moment. Arriving in Belém thirty years after the UNFCCC’s founding, the world is faced with a harsh reality: there has never been a greater divide between political reality and scientific necessity. Ultimately, COP30 is more than just another conference; it’s a test of the world’s determination at a time when failure is synonymous with delay. With its climate commitments, COP30 can be remembered as the conference that set the world straight if leaders can turn ambition into action.