Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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November 10, 2025 Climate and environment
The 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) opened in Belém, Brazil, on Monday. Delegates arrived at the forum with a clear message: the era of half-measures is over. The climate crisis is already here, causing widespread destruction and increasing economic costs. But there is a solution: clean energy is developing, and international cooperation can still reverse this negative trajectory.
Opening the conference, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for decisive action: "The moment has come when our capabilities must match the urgency of the challenges we face. We must finally overcome climate crisis denial and maintain the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal."
Simon Still, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), emphasized that the task of participants is not to argue with each other, but to unite against the climate crisis.
Cautious optimism and new commitments
The first day of the conference was marked by cautious optimism: the number of countries that submitted new climate plans reached 113. Together, they account for almost 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. According to a preliminary assessment by the UNFCCC, by 2035, these countries' commitments will help reduce emissions by 12 percent, although this is not enough to guarantee the achievement of the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Simon Still noted that the commitments made at previous conferences are beginning to yield results—the global emissions curve has begun to decline. He cited Belén as an inspiring example: "The Amazon is not a single river, but a system of thousands of tributaries. Similarly, the implementation of the conference's decisions must be based on multiple streams of international cooperation."
© UNFCCC/K. Worth
COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago greets Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the opening of the conference in Belém.
No country can cope alone
Still warned that no national plan can solve the problem on its own. Economic losses from climate disasters could reach double digits. "Inaction is neither economically nor politically justifiable," he emphasized. "It is inexcusable that extreme weather continues to claim lives when effective solutions already exist."
Among the priorities for COP30, he named the transition away from fossil fuels, tripling renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency, mobilizing $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries, approving global adaptation indicators, and advancing programs for a just transition to clean energy.
Conference of Truth
President Lula declared that "climate change is not a threat of the future, but a tragedy of the present." He called COP30 a "truth conference" and emphasized that denial and procrastination are no longer acceptable. "We are moving in the right direction, but at the wrong speed," he said. "Exceeding the 1.5-degree threshold is a risk we cannot take."
He sharply condemned climate change denial, noting that those behind it "reject not only science but also the progress of multilateral diplomacy." He stated that without the Paris Agreement, the world would be heading toward catastrophic warming of nearly five degrees by the end of the century.
The path to fossil fuel phasing out
Lula called on world leaders to make ambitious commitments and integrate climate change adaptation into national strategies. He proposed a "roadmap for humanity" to overcome dependence on fossil fuels, restore forests, and mobilize the necessary resources. He also announced the creation of a new fund to support the energy transition in developing countries, financed by oil revenues.
At the leaders' summit on November 6-7 in Belem, managed to mobilize $5.5 billion for an initiative aimed at supporting countries protecting their forestsOther collective commitments include recognizing indigenous land rights, quadrupling clean fuel production, and linking climate action to the fight against hunger, poverty, and "environmental racism."
Lula said holding COP30 in the heart of the Amazon is a "challenging but necessary task" that will give the world a chance to see the reality of the most biodiverse region on the planet, home to more than 50 million people and 400 indigenous peoples.
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