From November 10 to 21, 2025 the world will turn to Belem, a city at the mouth of the Amazon in the Brazilian state of Pará, where the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30). For the first time in history, the climate summit is taking place live in the Amazon, which symbolically underlines the importance of protecting rainforests for the global climate.

COP30 President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, a seasoned diplomat of climate history since Rio 1992, leads the presidency with the intention of moving the global response to the climate crisis from words to action.

🌍 Why is COP30 crucial?

1. Amazonia as the center of the world agenda
   Belém, gateway to the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, will be at the center of discussions on biodiversity conservation, reforestation, and financing ecosystems that store carbon and protect the climate.
2. Transition to implementation
   COP30 is being called the “delivery COP” – after years of negotiations, it is the moment when countries must show real results. The priority is to strengthen the implementation of the agreement. Paris, clearer adaptation and doubling climate finance.
3. Financing on a massive scale
   An ambitious plan is emerging: a path from the existing $300 billion per year to 1.3 trillion by 2035, the so-called "Baku-to-Belém roadmap".
4. Focus on tropical forests
   Brazilian plan Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) The $125 billion plan is intended to reward countries that protect rainforests and pursue sustainable carbon storage.
5. Just climate transition
   Great emphasis is placed on just energy transition, indigenous rights, equality and access to finance for countries in the South.
6. Innovation through the circular economy
   Brazil wants to push forward circular economy as a pillar of climate strategies – reducing waste and the emission intensity of raw material extraction.

✨ Preparations and logistics

• The city of Belém has reinvested about 4.7 billion BRL (1 billion USD) to infrastructure renovation: sewerage, transport, rescue projects, renovation of markets and public spaces (Serviços e Informações do Brasil).
• More than is expected 50,000 participants from over 190 countries
• To cope with the accommodation shortage, they ordered two large cruise ships (MSC Seaview, Costa Diadema) with approximately 6,000 beds like floating hotels (cop30.br). School dormitories, military capacities and new hotels are added – versus current prices, which reached up to 9,500 % increase in Booking.com.
• As a first step before COP30 itself, an independent SB62 summit will be held in Bonn in June 2025 – a test of trust, communication of real transformation and gaining political momentum (cop30.br).

🧭 What to expect from COP30?

🔹 1. Emissions commitments and carbon markets

Countries update their NDC commitments until 2035, a framework for globally interconnected carbon markets.

🔹 2. Adaptation and scaling of results

The UAE-Belém work programme sets out adaptation indicators (Global Goal on Adaptation) and evaluate the concrete progress of countries in preparing for climate change.

🔹 3. Climate transition finance

Since the signing of COP29, progress towards the plan is expected $1.3 trillion per year, funded by a combination of public and private resources.

🔹 4. Natural solutions and protection of virgin forests

The TFFF is set to be a permanent part of COP30: financing forest protection, but also farm agroforestry initiatives, promoted by companies like Nestlé Brazil.

🔹 5. The role of civil society and indigenous peoples

Presentations, discussions with communities and new "Circle of Presidents" (all former COP Presidents) they emphasize the inclusiveness and social legitimacy of the negotiations.

🔹 6. Transition to a circular economy

Brazil seeks to push through a strategic plan to support zero-waste economy – a proposal included in the COP30 agenda to reduce resource pressure.

🔥 Criticism and challenges

• In early 2025, the Brazilian Congress approved the highly criticized climate reform, which makes it easier for projects to obtain permits in sensitive regions, including the Amazon. Critics point to the risk of increased forest degradation before COP30 and subjective host motivation.
• Citizen groups warn of construction of a highway through a forest, allegedly without regard for environmental sustainability – despite denying official ties to COP30.

✳️ Political context and outlook

World powers – EU and China – are preparing for COP30 to confirm new commitments until 2035, especially after delays with NDC submissions. A joint statement on leadership in the climate agenda is expected.

Against a backdrop of geopolitical escalation, including conflicts in the Middle East and America's absence from climate leadership, COP30 is intended to show that multilateralism can once again deliver on its commitments.

COP30 in Belém is not just a summit – it is a moment of necessary transformation: from words to actions, from commitments to responsibility. Hosting under the Brazilian presidency allows not only to uncover the world’s most valuable carbon reservoir – Amazon rainforest – but also to define new rules for climate policy.

If COP30 becomes a success, it could mark the beginning of a new era of climate justice, financing and action awareness – the first COP that delivers, not just promises. Spring