The annual climate conference will take place in Belem, Brazil, from 10 November to 21 November.
Tens of thousands of people are set to gather in Belem, Brazil, for COP30, the UN’s annual climate conference.
The stakes are high after one of the warmest years on record, countless extreme weather events, and unprecedented ice melt. The UN says greenhouse gas emissions will now see global temperatures exceed 1.5°C, very likely within the next decade.
This year will also not feature delegates from one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world: the United States. On his first day in office in January 2025, President Donald Trump initiated the process to withdraw the country from the Paris Agreement, which he described as a “rip-off”. The official withdrawal will take place in January.
Here’s everything you need to know about the summit.
What is COP30?
COP stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’ with the ‘parties’ being the signatory governments to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is the 30th of these meetings, hence COP30.
The annual summit, run by the United Nations, brings together world leaders, scientists, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss global efforts to tackle climate change.
This year’s conference marks a decade since countries came together to adopt the Paris Climate Agreement at COP21. This pivotal climate change moment saw nearly 200 nations commit to limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
When is COP30?
This year’s summit will take place from 10 November to 21 November.
World leaders convene on the 6 and 7 November as part of the World Leaders Climate Action summit. This is a preliminary period where heads of state can meet before actual negotiations begin.
From there, talks are set to continue until 21 November. However, struggles to agree upon a final deal often mean they run over, with COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year officially ending 35 hours after its original scheduled end date.
The longest overrun for a COP was at COP25 in Madrid in 2019, which ended more than 40 hours late.
Where is COP30 taking place?
COP30 is in Belem, Brazil. While the conference has taken place in South America before, it is the first time it has come to Brazil. It is also the first time that groups are convening in the Amazonian rainforest.
Brazilian organisers have dubbed this year’s conference “the forest COP” and Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has also declared this year as the “COP of truth.”
Why is this year so controversial?
The location was chosen specifically so that world leaders must “face the climate crisis head on”, according to COP30 President-designate André Corrêa do Lago. Belem is located on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, a region threatenedby climate change and deforestation.
The city itself is incredibly prone to climate change: 40 per cent of it is below sea level, and a majority of people live on streets with no trees. Belem is also one of the poorest regions in Brazil, with most of its 2.5 million residents living in slums.
Despite a two-year head start to prepare the city for the influx of guests, there have been complaints about limited affordable accommodation ahead of the summit. Some landlords have reportedly evicted residents to try and make a profit from those visiting for COP30.
Earlier this year, it attracted further controversy due to claims that a section of the rainforest had been cleared to build a road to improve access for the international negotiations.COP30 officials denied that the infrastructure project was linked to the conference.
The Brazilian government also recently approved oil drilling near the Amazon River, bringing questions about the country’s climate credentials ahead of the summit.
Who is going to be at COP30?
As of Saturday, 2 November, fewer than 60 world leaders had confirmed their attendance at this year’s conference. This is less than in prior years, with around 100 world leaders travelling to Baku in Azerbaijan for COP29 last year.
President of the European Council António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have arrived in Belem, speaking at Thursday's session. Both UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Prince William (on behalf of King Charles) are also present. Other EU world leaders in attendance include French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
US President Donald Trump will not attend, unsurprising given his recent comments that climate change is “the greatest con job.” He will also not send any high-level officials in his place. The US will be exiting the Paris Agreement officially in January 2026.
China’s President Xi Jinping is also not attending, but has sent a delegation in his place.
What will be discussed?
COP30 is taking place 10 years on from the Paris Agreement and at a vital point for its signatories' climate plans. A core part of the treaty requires parties to make updated pledges known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years that lay out how they are going to cut emissions and adapt to climate change.
Parties were asked to submit their NDCs for 2035 by February this year, but 95 per cent of governments missed this deadline. They were then encouraged to submit them by the end of September, but still only 60 parties covering 63 per cent of global emissions managed to get theirs in on time. The EU finalised its emissions reduction targets this week.
Submitting these plans was probably the biggest challenge governments faced ahead of the summit, and how ambitious they are is likely to be one of the measures of its success this year.
An analysis from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) ahead of COP30 has shown that, while the Paris Agreementis somewhat working, wider action is needed to slow climate change.
“In Belém, leaders must agree on a decisive global response to address this shortfall,” says Melanie Robinson, Global Climate, Economics and Finance Director at the World Resources Institute.
This year’s conference will feature discussions on what efforts are needed to limit the global temperature increase, new NDCs submitted this year, and the progress from pledges made at last year’s summit.
Other core areas to be discussed are climate adaptation, oceans, finance, fossil fuels and forests.
As talks have started, the main message is clear: time is running short and urgent action is needed. And the absence of the US does not bode well for climate politics.
“The window of opportunity we have to act is rapidly closing," Lula said in a speech. "Extremist forces fabricate falsehoods to gain electoral advantage and trap future generations in an outdated model that perpetuates social and economic disparities and environmental degradation."