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COP 30 Officially Begins in Belém on November 10th

  • Sakura Yoshino
  • Dec 2, 2025
  • 3 min read

COP 30 will be held from November 10 to 21, 2025, in Belém, the capital of Pará. This is the first time Brazil will host a COP, although the idea of the COP was first conceived during Rio-92. 


The COP is one of the most important conferences that determines the international direction of climate change measures, bringing together national governments, local authorities, businesses, civil society, and experts to build consensus and accelerate action.


The Amazon rainforest, often called the “lungs of the Earth,” plays a crucial role in stabilizing the climate by absorbing vast amounts of carbon dioxide. However, it is also true that rapid destruction continues due to deforestation and fires. As the presiding country, Brazil has proposed a new funding scheme aimed at conserving the Amazon, the “Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF).” The fact that COP is being held in Belém can be seen as a symbolic event that reaffirms to the world the importance of preserving natural ecosystems in the fight against climate change. 


Furthermore, this COP 30 will be the first to take place since the United States announced its plan to withdraw once again from the Paris Agreement in 2025. It also marks a milestone year—20 years since the Kyoto Protocol came into effect and 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement—drawing significant global attention. This conference will serve as an opportunity to reconsider the state of international cooperation, review each country’s progress toward its goals, and determine how much further real action can be accelerated. As an “Implementation COP,” this meeting may become a turning point, shifting the focus from words to action. 


The discussions in Belém are centered around three main pillars:

  • Energy transition,

  • Climate adaptation, and

  • Financing.

On the energy transition front, Brazil aims to lead the creation of the so-called “roadmap,” a term used to describe the political and technical framework that will define the steps, timelines, and responsibilities of each country in replacing oil, gas, and coal with renewable energy sources and greater energy efficiency.  The goal is to ensure that the transition is just, orderly, and equitable, taking into account the different capacities and responsibilities of nations. This will be one of the main priorities of the Brazilian presidency, which seeks to turn the agreement reached in Dubai at COP 28 into a concrete plan with measurable targets and mechanisms, not merely a political commitment. 


Another central point of discussion is the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), a framework designed to measure how well countries are preparing for the impacts of climate change. The proposal is part of the UAE-Belém Framework for Global Climate Resilience and is considered essential for assessing which countries are managing to adapt and which are still being left behind. The challenge, however, lies in ensuring stable and predictable funding so that the system does not become merely a symbolic agreement. 


In the area of climate finance, developing countries arrive in Belém with a clear demand: the climate crisis must no longer be treated as something separate from the global economy. The challenge for the conference will be to give substance to the Baku-Belém Roadmap, a plan that seeks to mobilize US$1.3 trillion per year by 2025, with lower interest rates, more grants, and less debt. This issue will be crucial in determining the success of the COP, since without financing on a large scale, decarbonization and adaptation goals become unfeasible. 


The expected outcomes of COP 30 go far beyond statements of intent. The conference is seen as a decisive milestone for transforming the political consensus built since Dubai into concrete and measurable actions capable of putting the planet back on track toward the 1.5°C limit. The first expected outcome is progress on climate targets (NCDS, Nationally Determined Contributions). So far, just over 100 countries have submitted their new goals for 20235, but most remain far from sufficient. Currently, the existing targets cover only 30% of global emissions and would lead to a mere 4% reduction by 2035, while science indicates that a 60% cut would be needed to stabilize the climate. 


COP 30 will serve as a space to discuss how to integrate social justice and climate justice, as well as to align mechanisms that make the global energy transition truly inclusive. 



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