The first week of work at Cop30 in Belém concluded in an atmosphere of suspension and hope. The Brazilian presidency appears determined not to give up and to break with protocol to some degree in order to achieve results. Numerous informal talks have indeed been organised. The head of state of the South American nation, Lula, made it immediately clear what the goal is: adopting a road map for the progressive phase-out of fossil fuels. And Cop30 president André Corrêa do Lago has launched a "Mutirão" (a "collective mobilisation"), which will take the form of a ministerial-level meeting of heads of delegation at the very start of the second week.

UN Climate Change @UNFCCC

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COP30 kicked off today in Belém, Brazil. With climate disasters hitting every country on our planet, bold climate action and global cooperation have never been more crucial.

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The main objective of Cop30: a road map to bid farewell to fossil fuels

This, then, is the primary benchmark against which the effectiveness of the thirtieth United Nations Climate Change Conference will be judged. The objective is, moreover, particularly ambitious. First of all, it means moving beyond the era of bland formulations that have characterised recent Cops: from "phase down" to "transitioning away", none of which have so far been backed by concrete plans, dates or figures.

Bloomberg ✓ @business

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A Fossil Fuel Fight Brews at COP30 as Delegates Draft Road Map bloomberg.com/news/newslette…

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Secondly, Belém is where delegates hope to approve a document that names all fossil fuels, identifying them unequivocally as "the subject" of all climate change mitigation policies. Several influential diplomatic players — France, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom — have declared their support for the initiative, which would give substance to the Global Stocktake approved at Cop28 in Dubai. But the world remains deeply divided on the issue.

Governments clash over the 1.5 degrees Celsius target

It may seem absurd — and certainly anti-scientific — but at Cop30, as in too many governments, denialist voices are far from absent (despite the lack of a proper United States delegation). In the provisional texts circulated during the first seven days of work, some parties even challenged references to the target that had seemed to be internationally agreed upon in terms of limiting global warming: the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold.

The call from the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis) and the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (Ailac) — which explicitly requested that the target be mentioned — was met with opposition from the Arab Group and India. The latter argue that reference should instead be made to the full text of the Paris Agreement: a way of lowering the bar, since it states the need to remain "well below 2 degrees Celsius" while "pursuing efforts" to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

It comes as no surprise, then, that another much-debated topic is the commitments made by governments around the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The deadline for submitting these pledges — the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) — had been set for 30 September, but around 80 nations failed to meet it. Furthermore, current commitments would put us on a trajectory well beyond 2 degrees, even assuming full compliance by all parties. This is why the world's most vulnerable nations are pressing hard at Cop30 for everyone to do their part.

Disinformation, forest protection and climate finance

Noteworthy is the stance taken by thirteen governments on climate-related disinformation. The countries in question — among them Germany, Spain, Brazil, Canada and France — signed a declaration in which they commit to promoting the fight against fake news on climate change. This marks the first time in the history of the Cops that an initiative of this kind has been undertaken, and it was welcomed with great enthusiasm by Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

UN Climate Change @UNFCCC

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📢 Landmark declaration on information integrity launched at #COP30! For the first time, information integrity is prioritized at a COP.

The declaration establishes shared international commitments to address climate disinformation.

More: bit.ly/444vWKk

📸 Zô Guimarães

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Another central issue is deforestation, as is naturally expected given that Cop30 is being held on the doorstep of the Amazon. During the first week of the conference, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility fund was launched, aiming no longer to raise loans or donations, but rather investments in forest conservation. An innovative initiative welcomed by many, yet also met with criticism, as it effectively subordinates to profit actions that should instead represent a collective responsibility.

UN Climate Change @UNFCCC

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Fair and accessible climate finance is the key enabler to turn plans into progress across the world.

Because climate finance is not charity. It is an investment. In jobs, in growth and in resilience.

For a prosperous world for us all.

#FinanceDay | #COP30

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Finally, Cop30 must attempt to make progress on climate finance. In particular, on the transfer of capital and technologies from the Global North to the Global South, to enable the latter (more severely affected but less responsible for climate change) to adapt to its impacts, receive compensation for losses and damages suffered, and play its part in the ecological transition. The starting point is the 300 billion dollars per year promised at Cop29 in Baku, in Azerbaijan — a figure far short of what is needed to tackle the climate crisis and protect people and infrastructure.

The protests of indigenous peoples

Meanwhile, Cop30 has also seen its share of protests, particularly from indigenous peoples. Some demonstrators even forced their way into the Blue Zone, the area hosting government delegations and negotiators.