Belém’s COP30: A decisive step toward a green, clean future

Last October, I wrote in this column about COP30 in Belém, its stakes, the priorities set by the Brazilian presidency and its activation groups, and the opportunities for cooperation with the Philippines on climate action. The results reached in November, I believe, strengthen global climate governance at a crucial moment, marked by increasingly severe natural disasters, such as Typhoon Tino, and by rising voices of skepticism and isolationism that threaten biodiversity and could make our planet ever more hostile.

A few numbers help illustrate the scale of what took place. COP30 welcomed more than 56,000 participants from 193 Parties plus the European Union, representing governments, international organizations, scientists, business leaders, youth networks and civil society. As host, Brazil provided a venue for inclusive debate and reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and to the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Inclusivity was one of the hallmarks of Belém. The Brazilian presidency ensured broad participation of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities across all activation groups and created spaces to address the challenges they face and to showcase conservation strategies rooted in ancestral knowledge. Thousands of Indigenous representatives took part, demonstrating a strong and growing voice for communities whose contributions must be scaled up as creative climate solutions. The “High-Level Session on Indigenous Peoples and NDCs 3.0” underscored the importance of Indigenous stewardship for a sustainable economic transition, while the “Granary of Solutions” featured hundreds of nature-based projects anchored in traditional knowledge. These initiatives reflect the global recognition of Indigenous leadership as central to climate governance.

On mitigation, COP30 advanced implementation beyond targets. With nationally determined contributions (NDCs) already submitted, many countries used the venue to outline clearer pathways for reaching their decarbonization goals, particularly through clean energy adoption and the conservation of land and waterbody carbon sinks. The current Global Climate Action Agenda shows that decarbonization is beginning to reshape industrial capacity: roughly $140 billion in clean-industry investments are nearing final approval, and about 1,000 commercial-scale low-carbon industrial plants are now planned or operational worldwide. This signals growing momentum across sectors such as green hydrogen, renewable fuels, sustainable materials and carbon-neutral manufacturing.

Brazil also led by example. Throughout the event, the country highlighted key investments driving its green-economy transition, especially in renewable energies and frontier technologies under the New Industry Brazil initiative, its industrial-transformation strategy for the decade. The program promotes a shift toward low-carbon, innovation-driven production in areas such as clean energy, digitalization, semiconductors, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. By mobilizing public and private investment, it aims to strengthen value chains and position Brazil as a global supplier of sustainable industrial solutions.

COP30 likewise delivered progress in carbon accounting and transparency. Parties advanced toward alignment in methodologies for quantifying emissions, removals and sinks – an essential step for a credible Global Stocktake and for functioning carbon markets. The Belém Political Package established procedures for the next cycle, including the compilation and synthesis of biennial transparency reports under Article 13 of the Paris Agreement.

Building on findings from GST-1 that global greenhouse-gas emissions must fall by about 43 percent by 2030 and 60 percent by 2035 relative to 2019 levels, the Action Agenda reaffirmed key global aspirations: tripling renewable-energy capacity and doubling the rate of energy-efficiency improvements by 2030.

Progress was also notable in carbon markets. COP30 launched the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets, bringing together more than a dozen countries, including the EU, China and Brazil, to align standards for credit issuance, verification and cross-border trading.

There were notable outcomes in coordinating efforts between the public and private sectors for the mobilization of climate financing, a pillar of climate action in its many forms, from the green energy transition and technological development to preparedness, mitigation and disaster relief. In this regard, contributions and pledges announced by developed and developing nations, together with the new “Mutirão” decision to mobilize about $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 for developing countries, represent a meaningful push for the international climate-finance regime. While still short of the needs outlined in the Paris Agreement, these commitments signal renewed momentum, particularly with the COP30 goal of tripling global adaptation finance by 2035.

Forests also took center stage. Home to the world’s largest tropical forest coverage, Brazil recognizes its responsibility to protect these carbon sinks and biodiversity reservoirs. Working with international donors and other mega-diverse countries, the Brazilian presidency sponsored key initiatives, most notably the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF). Designed to provide long-term incentives for conserving tropical forests, the TFFF aims for a target size of around $125 billion, drawing on public, private and philanthropic capital. More than 53 countries endorsed the initiative at its launch in Belém, with over $5.5 billion in initial pledges. Importantly, at least 20 percent of TFFF resources are reserved for Indigenous peoples and local communities, whose stewardship is essential to safeguarding many of the world’s richest carbon sinks. Open to over 70 tropical forest countries, including the Philippines, the initiative covers more than one billion hectares of tropical and subtropical forests and stands among the most ambitious conservation-finance mechanisms ever proposed under a COP presidency.

From the outset, COP30 sought to transform climate ambition into concrete action while upholding fairness and solidarity, especially for vulnerable nations such as the Philippines and other archipelagic Pacific states. The work done in Belém provides solid ground for Turkey, which now assumes the presidency of COP31. With perseverance, inclusivity, transparency and urgency, we remain on the path toward limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Climate action demands collective effort, a true “Mutirão” of nations and peoples joining hands for present and future generations. COP30 demonstrated that the world is up to the challenge. What remains is to keep working, without delay.

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Gilberto Fonseca Guimarães de Moura is the Ambassador of Brazil to the Philippines.