In the Heart of the Crisis: COP30 Opens in the Amazon

After the official opening of COP30 through the World Leaders Climate Summit on the 6^th and 7^th of November, the 30^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) began this morning in the Amazon Forest in Belém, Brazil. In a challenging context where 2024 breached the 1.5°C warming threshold, and António Guterres, UN secretary-general, announced that the 1.5°C target wouldn’t be met, the conference’s opening day demanded immediate, actionable solutions to cut emissions. While the attendance of world leaders is noticeably lower than previous years – mostly due to the costly logistics of getting to and residing in Belém – the energy in the room is undeniably palpable. This COP’s focus on financing, nature preservation, and energy transition might signal for businesses and organisations the introduction of shifting regulations, investments, and market dynamics.

Here’s how the first two days are structured to kickstart these critical discussions:

Opening Ceremony of COP30

The Opening Ceremony of COP30 begins with the Presidency of COP29, Mukhtar Babayev, giving the torch to Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president of COP30. With a tap of his gavel, do Lago announces the official opening of COP30.

Next, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the stand to make his message clear: we must “defeat” climate change deniers and fight fake news as the science around climate change is undisputable – a direct jab at Donald Trump.

In his speech, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), acknowledges the progress made thanks to the Paris Agreement as the emissions curve has been “bent downwards”. However, Stiell stresses the need to move “much, much, faster” on reducing emissions and strengthening resilience. He mentions key initiatives that must be strengthened in the talks that will follow over the next two weeks:

• The transition away from fossil fuels

• The Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3tn

• The global goal on adaptation and its indicators

• Transition pathways that are just and equitable

• And the Technology Implementation Programme.

Figure 1: The trajectory of global GHG emissions based on the latest Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

It’s important to note that despite NDCs showing a downward trend, emissions are actually still rising globally. This isn’t necessarily reflective of whether NDCs are met – rather, this is likely due to a combination of NDCs not being met and the lack of action and commitment by the world’s largest polluters.

Ten New Insights on Climate Science

The first Press Conference provided the environmental context that will shape discussions based on a new report by Future Earth: “Ten New Insights on Climate Science”. Current NDCs will deliver only a 12% emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This figure falls short of the required 42% reduction to keep warming below 1.5°C and 28% to keep warming below 2°C. This means, based on the full implementation of NDCs, global warming is projected to exceed 2.5°C. The first four insights from the report highlight that the planet is losing its resilience. This is a result of the Earth’s decreasing albedo – in other words, the planet is getting darker and trapping more heat –oceans warming at an accelerating rate, natural land carbon sinks becoming carbon sources, and biodiversity loss deteriorating.

Insights 5 to 7 show global warming is worsening impacts on humans and societies. Climate change is depleting global groundwater, rising temperatures are leading to more infectious diseases, and heat stress is reducing productivity and economic growth.

Insights 8 to 10 describe the path forward and the ways we can get out of this crisis. We must scale Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) to avoid overshooting 1.5°C as the phase-out from fossil fuels alone will not be sufficient anymore. Transparency of voluntary carbon markets must be improved to avoid misuses such as greenwashing, prioritising offsets over reductions, or using poor quality offsets– instead, they must be used as a tool only and complementary to direct emission reductions. Lastly, policies must include mitigation and adaptation measures such as carbon pricing, strong regulatory frameworks, and phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels.

The key takeaway is that “transitioning away” from fossil fuels – as agreed during COP28 – will not suffice to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Instead, the “phase-out” of fossil fuels must be complemented with carbon dioxide removal measures (e.g. regeneration of natural ecosystems, enhanced rock weathering, biochar, biomass sinking, CDR technologies), and the implementation of a balanced set of policies must address technological and practical aspects of decarbonisation and adaptation as well as economic and market factors.

Key Takeaways from Day 1

A central theme during the first day of COP was the need to accelerate implementation and adopt concrete action, especially in the areas of adaptation and technology. As part of that, multiple initiatives launched yesterday to create market opportunities at the intersection of innovation and climate adaptation, including:

• A 1.4$ billion investment by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help farmers in vulnerable regions

• The Green Digital Action Hub – a platform intended to facilitate the green digital transformation

• AI Climate Institute – an initiative to train developing countries on AI skills for climate action

• Digital decarbonisation technologies

• And advances in data transparency for Internet and Communications Technologies emissions

Yet, this is unachievable without the adequate information and data to back up these initiatives – a central theme during the Mandated Event on Earth Information Day. The data sets that inform climate knowledge is the silent hero in the fight against climate change. Without the ability to measure the impact of greenhouse gases (GHG) on our atmosphere and climate, we would not be able to manage, mitigate and adapt to climate impacts. So far, data has told us the following:

• 2025 is set to be the second or third warmest year ever recorded

• The last three years were the warmest ever recorded

• The concentration of emissions in our atmosphere is at its highest in 800.000 years

• The increase of emissions between 2023 and 2024 was the highest ever recorded.

Data is also useful to predict extreme weathers through Early Warning Systems that can save millions of lives. As Celeste Saulo, Secretary General at the World Meteorological Organisation said during her talk, “Science is not only warning us, it is equipping us to adapt”.  

Data forms the backbone of climate action, because it can be processed into information and then transformed into action. However, multiple key speakers from the meteorological institutions have addressed the data gap that creates obstacles for climate and weather modelling. With the improved robustness, frequency, and quality of data collected – using satellites, in-situ observations, buoys, and more – Early Warning Systems can be improved in range and accuracy.

However, these systems have not been rolled out at scale in developing countries, leaving millions of people at risk from extreme weather events. Therefore, investment in data sharing and knowledge transfer must be part of the adaptation support provided to emerging economies and vulnerable nations.

The call-to-action from the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) – a United Nations fund co-created by the WMO, UNDP, and UNEP – is crystal clear. With 18 countries benefiting from investment support and an additional 9 on the waiting list, SOFF, urgently need more funding to support countries in need of Early Warning Systems.

Therefore, more robust and accurate data will enable the implementation of technological solutions for both mitigation and adaptation. As expected from the “COP of Implementation”, today’s sessions placed a strong emphasis on technology as a tool to help accelerate climate action – a theme anticipated to dominate the discussions in the days to come.

Global Hunger and Agriculture

Besides technology and innovation, talks were centred around combating world hunger and improving agricultural resilience. With worsening climate change, agriculture and food systems are taking a direct hit through events such as extreme heat, floods, droughts, and hurricanes. This in turn hinders food security, especially in developing countries where world hunger is a constant emergency. COP30 intends to explore climate-adaptive agricultural technologies, strengthen the investment case for agricultural innovation, and unify the industry’s voices. During the World Leader Summit, leaders from 43 countries and the EU signed the Declaration on Hunger, Poverty, and People-Centered Climate Action. In response to worsening hunger and poverty due to climate change, the declaration recommends that countries prioritise adaptation such as social protection, crop insurance, and other initiatives to improve community resilience. The declaration also puts emphasis on the protection of opportunities, jobs, and livelihoods for smallholder farmers, traditional communities, and forest peoples through funding.

Concluding Remarks

The first day of COP30 has set the tone for the coming weeks: we have the information, the solutions, and the framework for multilateral cooperation to turn the climate crisis around. What we lack, however, is time and funding. With the planet’s resilience fading faster than projected and current NDCs falling dangerously short, speakers reinforced the urgency of our situation.

The concentration of emissions continues to rise, increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. This has a direct and devastating impact on global health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, and poverty. Each moment of delayed action further drains our remaining carbon budget, pushing us closer to a catastrophic 2.5°C warming scenario – a disaster for the livelihoods of millions, if not billions of people.

Therefore, nations must now take full responsibility for their communities and their role in global warming by adopting mitigation and adaptation measures immediately. This requires a set of policies that enable rapid scaling and deployment of science-based solutions. In addition to decarbonisation, these measures must include nature-based approaches to protect untouched lands and regenerate vast degraded areas. Simultaneously, they must embrace innovation and technology, such as Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) technologies, to complement the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels.

Climate Action for Associations (CAFA) are attending COP30 as official NGO Observer. This year we are attending in a virtual capacity, providing our members with direct reporting from the heart of the negotiations. We are committed to delivering daily insights and a comprehensive end-of-COP report to ensure you stay fully informed on the outcomes that matter to membership organisations and their members.

For more information and updates on COP30 from us, follow this link.