COP30, the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties on the management of the climate crisis and global warming, has officially opened in Belém, Brazil: for the first time in history, the summit will take place on the outskirts of the Amazon Forest. This year there are two main objectives: to establish a plan to mobilise, by 2035, 1,300 billion dollars per year for developing countries – as decided at the end of COP29 – and to strengthen the ecological transition leading to the abandonment of fossil fuels – the final objective of COP28.
This is an important appointment, given that this year marks 10 years since the adoption of the Paris Agreements and 20 years since the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, two of the most important international agreements for combating climate change.
In reality, as already happened at the COP29 in Baku, finding an agreement that brings together all the countries will be particularly difficult, also due to the absence of major personalities – including Donald Trump and Xi Jinping – at the summit of political leaders which was held on 7 November.
Meanwhile, a recent study confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year recorded so far in history: according to UN Secretary Antonio Guterres, limiting global warming to +1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is now unachievable.
What is the COP30 in Belém in Brazil and what are the objectives
The acronym COP stands for Conference of Parties, literally “Conference of the Parties” and indicates the UN Conference, organized annually to bring together the approximately 200 representatives, including countries and international organizations (such as the EU), who have signed the 1992 United Nations climate agreement.
The big priority of COP30, which will continue until November 21, is to put into practice the “New Collective Quantified Goal” agreed at COP29. Specifically, countries will have to outline a strategic plan to allocate at least $1,300 billion per year to developing countries by 2035. These funds, which will serve as climate aid, will have to be allocated by the most developed countries, but private investments or emerging countries that are not currently donors may also contribute.
But the stakes this year are quite high: COP30 is the first Conference of the Parties to recognize the failure of the objective of limiting global warming to +1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Among other things, according to a recent UN report – theEmissions Gap Report 2025 – if current energy policies do not change, it is possible that by the end of the 21st century the average global temperature will increase by 2.8 °C compared to the pre-industrial era.
Among the new features, then, there is the possible launch of a “Tropical Forests Forever Facility“, i.e. a multilateral financing mechanism proposed by Brazil to “support the conservation of endangered forests and the populations that live there” and the definition of the methods of access to the Fund for Losses and Damages (FRLD), the instrument created to help the countries most affected by the effects of climate change and managed with the support of the World Bank.
More generally, the COP30 program is divided into six different pillars established by Brazil, which holds the presidency of the UN Climate Conference, as host country:
- The transition of energy sources, industry and transport.
- The management of forests, oceans and biodiversity.
- The transformation of agriculture and food systems.
- Strengthening the resilience of cities, infrastructure and water resources.
- The promotion of human and social development.
- The release of enablers and accelerators, including in finance, technology and capacity building.
Because it will be difficult to reach a negotiation during the UN climate conference
As happened with the COP29 in Baku, and the previous COP28 in Dubai, reaching a final agreement will be particularly complicated, for several reasons.
First of all, the absence at COP30 of the leaders of the four most polluting countries in the world: USA, China, India and Russia. And, among other things, after Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement – one of the first measures signed by Trump at the beginning of his second term – President Donald Trump made it known that the United States will not participate in the Conference with high-level representatives.
In short, half as many Heads of State arrived in Belém as last year: with such a reduced participation, it is very unlikely that an agreement shared by the entire international community will be reached. Added to all this are the numerous international geopolitical tensions, which will make negotiations to reach a compromise for the management of the climate crisis even more difficult.
In general, however, the decisions taken at COPs are not binding (and therefore obligatory for States), but can lay the foundations for future treaties, as happened with the Paris Agreements.
