What is COP and why is this year’s meeting in Brazil so important?
From 10-21 November, world leaders, scientists, activists, negotiators, diplomats, Indigenous Peoples, and other affected communities will gather in Belém, Brazil for COP30. This annual UN climate conference arrives at a critical moment. It’s the first conference since the news that the world passed the 1.5°C threshold of heating above pre-industrial levels. This limit, long considered vital, helps avoid the worst impacts of climate change. This milestone underscores the urgency of bold, coordinated action.
Putting human rights at the heart of climate policy is crucial for achieving climate justice. Leaders can stand up to corporate interests and push for a fast and just phase out of fossil fuels. COP also presents an opportunity. It ensures environmental human rights defenders on the frontlines of climate change are protected. They must be allowed to meaningfully participate in climate decision making.
Leaders also have an opportunity to agree on how to scale up climate finance in the form of grants, not loans. This can help those most impacted by climate change, rather than pushing countries the least responsible further into debt. The science is undeniable. Climate change is getting worse, and human activities, particularly the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, are the main cause. However, if we work together, united by our shared humanity, we can create a future that delivers climate justice.
What is a COP meeting?
COP, or the Conference of Parties, is an annual meeting where states work together to make concrete commitments. They come up with solutions to address climate change. Working together is essential; the atmosphere is a shared global public good. COP serves as the main decision-making body for the UN Framework for Climate Change (UNFCCC). This international environmental treaty, established in 1994, creates a mechanism for climate negotiations and the 2015 Paris Agreement. COP is hosted in a different location every year. This year, the 30th meeting is being held in Bélem, Brazil. If you’re confused by all the COP jargon, here is a quick guide for you.
Why is this year’s meeting so important?
Every COP meeting is important, but the stakes are higher than ever this year. At previous COP meetings, leaders emphasized a shared goal to keep the increase in global average temperatures from pre-industrial levels to less than 1.5°C. However, it’s been confirmed that the world breached that threshold in 2024. Due togeographic and other factors, some areas of the world are heating at even faster rates. According to climate science experts, the world is on course to be 2.8°C above pre- industrial levels by 2100. This will have catastrophic implications for billions of people and ecosystems.
While the climate crisis is fast deepening, many key governments have doubled down on fossil fuels over the past year. For example, an effort to secure critical sustainability legislation in the European Union is under threat. Other governments, such as Canada, have loosened their regulations around fossil fuel extraction and processing. The United States is pressuring other countries to slow down climate action and to purchase US fossil fuels.
Governments must mitigate the climate crisis by rapidly phasing out fossil-fuel emissions. This must be done now.
Spotlight on Brazil
This year’s meeting will also provide an opportunity. It will shine a light on the devastating effects of climate change and fossil fuel extraction in Brazil. The government of Brazil is expanding fossil fuel extraction across the country. On 20 October, the Brazilian environmental agency granted the state-owned oil company Petrobras a license to drill in the mouth of the Amazon. This will have serious negative impacts on the climate, as well as on the local environment. It poses a direct threat to local water and soil. Additionally, it affects the ecological balance. This oil extraction will also cause serious harm to the Indigenous People and traditional who have not been consulted about the project at all. As the country prepares to host COP30 in Belém this year, the efforts to accelerate the license approval of fossil fuel projects at the mouth of the Amazon reveal a clear contradiction. This is between the Brazilian government’s domestic actions and its desire to be a global leader in climate action.
Continue reading the rest of this article here and learn more about how climate change is linked to human rights.
What must COP30 deliver for a fairer, safer future for all of us?
COP30 needs to be a pivotal moment for accelerating a fair and just shift away from fossil fuels. It aims to close the ambition gap. This will keep global heating below 1.5°C, the global threshold to avoid the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis. Governments must use this COP to agree on strong, equitable commitments to:
- Triple renewables in a fair and equitable way: COP30 must deliver on the global goal to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with power that is affordable, distributed, and accessible to all. The transition must be fully funded, advancing the COP29 Roadmap toward the $1.3 trillion climate finance target with grant-based, debt-free public finance. It must also end exploitative and extractive practices, uphold human rights, and guarantee Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) for all communities.
- Rapidly and equitably phase out fossil fuels for a just transition now: COP30 must mark the moment of no new fossil fuel projects, especially in critical ecosystems like the Amazon — because there will be no standing forests on a burning planet. To stay within 1.5°C, countries must commit to a 55% decline in global fossil fuel production by 2035, with wealthy nations moving first and fastest.
- No climate justice without Indigenous and traditional leadership at COP : Indigenous and traditional leaders must sit alongside Heads of State at COP30 and have an equal voice in all climate negotiations. Their leadership and knowledge are essential for just, inclusive, and effective climate governance, with frontline communities fully embedded in decision-making processes.