UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) Kicks Off in Brazil

The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) officially begins this Monday in Belém, Brazil, against a backdrop of trade disputes, armed conflicts, and the urgent need to turn rhetoric into tangible responsibilities and actions.

“COP30 can mark the moment when humanity starts over, restoring our alliance with the planet and between generations (…) we choose courage over inaction, to change the course in the fight against climate change,” stated André Corrêa do Lago, the COP30 president, in a public letter.

He charged the more than 50 global leaders and representatives from 160 countries gathered in Belém, the capital of Brazil's Pará state, to initiate a cycle of actions to confront the global climate crisis.

Furthermore, in the document, Corrêa do Lago recounted the history of discussions on the climate crisis, which began with the Earth Summit (ECO-92) in Rio de Janeiro. “In Belém, we will honor this continuity: the capacity of our species to cooperate, renew itself, and act jointly in the face of uncertainty,” he wrote.

He summarized previous letters, which defined the most important points for COP30: strengthening the climate regime and multilateralism, linking the climate system to the economy and people's daily lives, and accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

The ambassador emphasized: “With this tenth letter, I conclude a cycle of words so the world can begin a cycle of action; we are on the verge of achieving it.”

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, lent the meeting an urgent moral tone. At the forum, he warned that “in a scenario of insecurity and distrust, selfish interests prevail over the common good,” and demanded that COP30 “be the COP of truth.”