As world leaders, negotiators, and climate experts gather in Belem, Brazil, for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, the focus will remain on unmet targets, mounting global climate concerns, and the road ahead to mitigate them.
During the two-week conference, from November 10 to 21, the focus will remain as much on multilateralism and cooperation, marking a decade since the landmark Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 countries in 2015, from which the United States later withdrew unilaterally and without any repercussions.
Notably, Brazil, the host of this year’s negotiations, has said its primary goal is to strengthen the trust in this multilateral system, so as to enhance climate outcomes.
Along with strengthening multilateralism, the talks are expected to be focused on adaptation and enhancing implementation. “Adaptation will be a key issue,” said Bhupender Yadav, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, at a briefing.
The focus is also expected to be on forests. Notably, Brazil, the home of the Amazon rainforest, has launched the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).
The initiative incentivises global finance for the conservation of tropical forests by proposing that countries with tropical forests be paid annually to maintain their standing forest.
India has said it would join the TFFF as an ‘Observer’. Progress is also anticipated on the Global Goal on Adaptation, which aims to strengthen collective action and measurable outcomes in climate adaptation.
The developing nations will have their issues on hand, especially when it comes to climate financing and technology, areas that developed countries are obligated to support.
At the same time, India is expected to present its transition to renewable energy, an area it has been working on consistently. It might also present its NAP (National Adaptation Plan) and NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions), which aren’t directly linked to COP30, but India might use the platform to present these.
Notably, it hasn’t released its NDC targets for 2035, which are mandated under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
With the United States out of the picture, China, another major emitter, is expected to play a more prominent role in the negotiations.