By Janet Ekstract, NEW YORK – The COP30 Climate Summit, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) got underway on November 10 with the major goal of this year’s summit emphasis on climate action, including implementing and adapting solutions to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The 2025 summit holds even more significance because the venue is Belem, Brazil – the “gateway” to the Amazon rainforest and is being hosted by the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. As Lula da Silva told summit attendees, on the first day, the world must “defeat” climate denial and fake news about the climate. He declared “COP30 to be the COP of truth” while referring to a “rejection of scientific evidence” as well as “fake news and misrepresentation” around climate change. The summit will be chaired by COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago, Brazil’s vice minister for climate, energy and environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those attending include U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Prince William, a number of government leaders and ministers, diplomats, U.N. representatives, scientists, business leaders and non-governmental organizations across the globe. COP30 leadership refers to the summit as a “Global Mutirao for Sustainability” which means a “collective effort,” – shared outcomes guided by cooperation.
In opening the summit on its first day, U.N chief Antonio Guterres warned “We need to move faster and move together. And this COP must ignite a decade of acceleration and delivery.” On an optimistic note, the U.N. leader said: “The United Nations will not give up on the 1.5-degree goal because another truth is evident – we have never been better equipped to fight back.” Guterres emphasized that “A clean energy revolution has taken hold,” adding “Solar and wind energy are now the cheapest sources of power, and the fastest growing sources of electricity in history. What is still missing is political courage.” On a cautionary note, Guterres remarked: “Let us be clear, the 1.5-degree limit is a red line for humanity. It must be kept within reach and scientists tell us that this is also still possible.” The U.N. chief concluded: “If we act now, at speed and scales, we can make the overshoot as small, as short and as safe as possible – and bring temperatures back below 1.5 degrees before century’s end.”
COP30 will not see any delegation from the U.S. as a White House official told ABC News: “The U.S. is not sending any high-level representatives to COP30.” U.S. President Donald Trump for the second time, signed an executive order, announcing the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement which becomes official on January 27, 2026. But the official said, “The president is directly engaging with leaders around the world on energy issues, which you can see from the historic trade deals and peace deals that all have a significant focus on energy partnerships.” Close to 200 countries usually participate in the UNFCC with most attending the annual COP summit. Though Chinese President Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be attending COP30, they will have delegations attending. The summit will meet from November 10 through November 21 in Belem, Brazil.
