COP30 is wrapping up in Belem, Brazil, the first one held in the Amazon. As with all past global conferences, this COP has been no exception in stressing the urgency of the climate crisis topic. Difficulties included not just the logistics due to the location of the event and the protests from the Indigenous communities, which demanded a greater role in decision-making, but also the alignment of the different negotiation dynamics among the parties involved.
With the US federal government under Trump being absent, the second biggest carbon polluter globally, and the EU showing a weakened position on its 2040 climate target, this conference seems to fall short on its center topic, the fossil fuel phase-out.
Health is becoming an important part of climate discussions, as many countries are adopting the Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP), which asks them to create policies and systems that help the health sector adjust and improve in response to climate change using new ideas and sustainable methods.
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility makes its appearance, an initiative that aims to protect the tropical forests and their immense value through a financing mechanism.
In this piece, we unfold five key points that we kept from COP30 this year.
Hosting COP30 in the Amazon has had symbolic significance, and this is substantial since Brazil wants forests to be its legacy. On November 6th, the Tropical Forever Forest Facility was launched at the leader’s summit. Brazil, Portugal, Norway, and Indonesia were among the initial countries to pledge their support for helping other nations access funding and design projects and policies aimed at protecting forests.
Although this is a notable financial effort from COP30 to invest in such initiatives aimed at keeping the forests standing and calling for political voices to join, there is also something of an oxymoron in this. While Brazil is promoting how drastically Amazon deforestation should be reduced and organizing a COP around that theme, at the same time, its oil production is booming. This comes as a contradiction to the climate rhetoric because the reality of fossil fuel production is much worse, and if it is not confronted, protecting trees alone is not a sufficient solution.
Two years following the key thematic area of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels and the goal of increasing energy capacity and efficiency by 2030, discussions are still circling this topic. During COP30, more than 80 countries have now requested a more time-specific roadmap that will have a strong sense of commitment in the fossil fuel phase-out. This is not a demand that concerns only the developing countries, as the supporters span Africa, Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific.
However, there are these nations that rely heavily on oil exporting, for example Saudi Arabia, that show a form of resistance. They cannot support such a direction out of fear of any explicit reference to the gradual elimination of fossil fuels.
According to the president of COP30, André Corrêa do Lago, this divide can be closed by recognizing that most markets are already moving towards clear energy and that a better use of existing financial and technological resources can significantly help the developing countries.
If one thing is clear, it is that political discussions in this COP30 have undergone evolution. It’s certain that fossil fuels need to be removed; the questions are how fast this process will be, who will pay, and what is considered a more just transition.
Last year’s talks in the climate conference were about funding. In COP30 in Belém, the finance conversations heat up about how money can be further raised, reaching US$1.3 trillion annually, through a mix of public finance, private capital, and new market mechanisms.
Besides the newest TFFF, in the field of carbon markets, we have seen Brazil start the Open Coalition for Carbon Market Integration/Climate Coalition. This is about a group of volunteers that will work together to line up carbon market rules, monitoring and accounting, and link systems across borders. Global leaders, especially in the EU, have approved a declaration that positions carbon pricing and markets as key instruments in the fight against climate change worldwide.
Further finance initiatives include new alliances and commitments forming around methane and other short-lived climate pollutants. These include first financing packages, with the aim of extending support to numerous countries by the year 2030.
It seems promising to hear about finance announcements, but there is serious doubt if these come from a genuine place. There remains a significant issue regarding the amount of funding that will be raised, who will have access to it, and the terms of access, which renders these discussions vague and uncertain.
In this COP30, health received the attention it deserves as it became one of the “clearest” pillars of the conference. On November 13th, the COP30 adopted the Health Day, and this is a rather major outcome. Adopting climate health can be a priority for everyone, and it acquires a more formal gravity amidst the preparation of the 2028 Global Stocktake.
Health systems should be organized under 3 pillars: surveillance & monitoring, evidence & capacity, and innovation & production so that climate justice, equity, and participation are highlighted.
In terms of financial support, philanthropies including Rockefeller, Wellcome, Gates, Bloomberg, the IKEA Foundation, and others, announced US$300 million for climate-health research and solutions, especially on deadly heat and air pollution. The Belém Health Action Plan (BHAP) becomes the first international climate adaptation plan focused on health systems, and this is the most critical part of the COP30 where health is recognized as a mainstream metric of climate progress.
In the beginning of COP30, Brazil’s President, Lula, refers to this conference as the “COP of truth.” This narrative aims to reveal, perhaps in a more aggressive way, how ineffective it is to succumb to climate denials, particularly in how online information is handled and manipulated.
At least ten countries have pledged to handle climate disinformation by communicating backed-up facts around climate.
Additionally, COP30 launched important digital and AI initiatives such as the Green Digital Action Hub, an AI Climate Institute, and the Maloca Platform. Acting in this innovative era means that digital tools can be utilized to empower and ensure that AI has the capacity to provide improved data to handle climate challenges, particularly in developing countries.
However, firmly placing AI on the climate agenda raises complex issues for COP30. On one hand, it embraces systems optimization; on the other hand, it poses new challenges for grids, policy frameworks, and long-term planning due to the rapidly rising need for electricity.
As COP30 concludes, countries leave Belém with substantive progress on forests, health resilience, and new climate-finance tools, but without the decisive breakthrough many had hoped for on fossil fuels. The final text maintains broad language on transitioning away from coal, oil, and gas, despite growing support for a clearer, time-bound phase-out plan. The summit’s success will ultimately depend on whether the initiatives launched here can overcome that unresolved gap in the years ahead.
