World leaders, climate negotiators, and activists are gathering in Belem, Brazil, for COP30, the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, which runs from November 10 to 21, 2025. The conference, hosted in the heart of the Amazon, marks a symbolic return to the birthplace of global climate diplomacy, three decades after Brazil hosted the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, where the foundational UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed
Known formally as the Conference of the Parties, the COP brings together the countries that signed the 1992 treaty committing to collective global action on climate change. The agreement established a framework of “common but differentiated responsibilities,” recognizing that wealthier, industrialized nations — historically responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions — bear greater responsibility for reducing pollution and supporting vulnerable nations.
As the current COP president, Brazil has set the summit’s agenda and emphasized a renewed focus on accountability rather than new promises. This year’s conference comes at a critical juncture: it is the first to officially acknowledge that the world has failed to meet the 1.5°C global warming limit outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Brazil’s decision to host COP30 in Belem, an Amazonian city, underscores the urgent need to protect the world’s forests, which are vital carbon sinks but remain under constant threat from logging, mining, agriculture, and fossil fuel industries.
The Belem summit aims to channel global attention toward protecting vulnerable ecosystems and indigenous communities, while urging countries to follow through on commitments made at COP28, including the pledge to phase out fossil fuels. Brazil has called on nations to prioritize implementation and financing mechanisms instead of making additional, unfulfilled declarations.
Delegations from nearly every country are attending, often represented through coalitions reflecting shared interests. Key groups include the Alliance of Small Island States, which continues to push for stronger climate financing as rising seas threaten their survival, and the G77+China bloc of developing nations seeking fairer global climate governance. The BASIC Group — Brazil, South Africa, India, and China — remains an influential voice for emerging economies, while the Africa Group highlights the continent’s vulnerability to droughts and extreme weather despite its low emissions footprint.
The United States, which earlier this year announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, has taken a diminished role compared to past conferences. In its absence, countries like China and Brazil have stepped forward to shape the global climate agenda.
Beyond high-level negotiations, the COP30 venue in Belem has become a bustling hub for civil society. Environmental organizations, indigenous activists, and youth movements are using the summit to amplify calls for climate justice, while corporations and investors engage in side discussions on green technologies, renewable energy, and sustainable financing.
As the world’s attention turns to the Amazon, COP30 represents both a moment of reflection and a test of resolve. Thirty years after the first UN climate treaty, the question facing delegates is whether humanity can still come together to slow the planet’s warming before the consequences become irreversible.