The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30) has taken place in Belem, Brazil, from November 10 to 21, 2025. Belem was chosen because the Amazon region which is an essential ecosystem for the planet, as it is responsible for maintaining the local, regional and global climate.  191 countries are represented attempting to save the planet against climate change.

1. What is COP 30 and its expectations

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is where the world comes together to agree on the actions to address the climate crisis, such as limiting the global temperature rise already up to 1.5 degrees Celsius, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the effects of climate change, and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The Paris agreement signed 10 years ago in 2015 bound countries to the goal of aimed to “limit the temperature increase to 1.5C above preindustrial levels”.  Professor Jim Skea, Chairperson of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that “2024 was the warmest year on record, reaching 1.55 degrees Celsius.” We are already beyond the average of 1,5°C. He also confirmed that, it is still possible to bring global warming back down to 1.5°C by the end of this 21century, but only through “immediate, deep and sustained reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the removal of substantial amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” “Every fraction of a degree of heating avoided will save millions of lives and billions of dollars in climate damage.”

With the absence of USA in Belem, Chairperson of COP 30, André Corrêa do Lago formally opened the COP30, in promising that Belem would be the “COP of Truth”. Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chair of World Council of Churches   COP30 is a kairos moment that demands we choose transformation over destruction, solidarity over extraction, and life over profit," This is not simply about transitioning to cleaner energy; it is about ecological metanoia transforming our hearts, our economies, and our civilizations. We must centre the wisdom of Indigenous peoples who have been faithful stewards of God's creation for generations, and we must ensure that climate finance brings liberation, not new chains of debt."

2. The planet earth is in danger

The planet continues to record-high global temperatures and continues increasing in greenhouse gas emissions. “Every fraction of a degree increased, means more hunger, displacement and loss especially for those least responsible. This is moral failure and deadly negligence” said Antonio Guterres the UN General Secretary. The planet earth is in danger. “How many warnings do we need? The time is now, but our leaders are asleep at the wheel, on a collision course to more devastating storms like Hurricane Melissa, human suffering, economic damages and climate injustice.” Jasper Inventor, Deputy Program Director, Greenpeace International said and wants a global planned response for accelerating actions in COP30 and it will highlight commitments from several novel efforts to counter climate change.  

The first COP in the Amazon is an opportunity to face head-on the impacts and contradictions of all climate change projects, betting on the rights and territorial sovereignty of Amazonian populations. There is also an opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the responsibility of states in dealing with the climate crisis. The International Court of Justice has delivered its much anticipated advisory opinion on states’ obligations to tackle climate change, confirming that international law requires states to prevent significant harm to the climate—and failure to do so can trigger legal responsibility. The opinion arrives 6 years after a group of 27 students from the University of the South Pacific began campaigning on this issue.

3. COP30 three key questions:

3.1. How to prevent runaway global warming? UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2025, released on the eve of COP30, shows current commitments that put the world on a path of 2.3–2.5°C of warming by the end of the century. We are very likely to overshoot 1.5°C within the next decade, the priority now is to keep that overshoot as small and short as possible.

3.2. How to protect vulnerable communities from climate impacts? Developing nations will need more than US$310 billion every year by 2035 to adapt to this climatic fallout. They now have access to just a tiny fraction of that total, found UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2025.  Yet, we need to ensure that workers, vulnerable communities impacted by climate change, and regions dependent on high-carbon industries are not left behind. 

International climate finance: The “Baku to Belem Roadmap to 1.3 Trillion” aims to close the large gap between the disappointing outcome of COP29 and the financial needs of the Global South. "Climate plans without finance are promises without power," said Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development. All signatory of COP 29 stated to submit their climate targets for 2035 this year. The timing is critical: ahead of COP30, all countries are required to submit their new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)  including China and the EU, whose contributions are still pending. The collective efforts will be evaluated at COP30.

Adaptation to the climate crisis: More money needed for adaptation to the climate crisis Climate finance remains at the center of the debate. Climate finance remains the focus of the debate in Belem: After the COP29 in Azerbaijan agreed on a new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) of USD 300 billion per year by 2035, which is not only far too low but also far too vague and ambiguous, further and more concrete results are hoped for from COP30.

3.3. How to ensure fair and inclusive transitions? The work will articulate how governments and the private sector can put people at the center of national and sectoral transitions. This includes job creation and worker training, and diverse strategies into climate planning and investment. 

Africa is challenged by climate change which it never caused

In Africa for more than 80 % of countries are challenged by climate change which they never caused. This is to say that African countries bear no historical responsibility for causing the climate crisis. The challenges are prolonged droughts, failed rains, and rising temperatures that have devastated agriculture and livestock, leading to cascading social challenges such as income loss, reduced access to education, gender-based violence, and mental health issues. By 2030, an estimated 118 million Africans could be exposed to extreme weather. At the same time, more than 600 million Africans still live without access to energy, even as countries spend up to 2% of their GDP on adaptation.  COP 30 should ensure that Africa’s most vulnerable regions are prioritized. So far, only 16 African countries have submitted updated NDCs. Progress is slowed by limited technical expertise, weak regulatory frameworks, insufficient data to form baselines, and difficulty coordinating across ministries and stakeholders. Accessing climate finance remains another major barrier because much external climate finance comes from loans rather than grants, and most African countries rely heavily to that external financing for solving climate change problems.

How can people (vulnerable communities) be rehabilitated? Africa is not demanding sympathy but justice. For example Africa’s agriculture, the backbone of most economies on the continent, has been badly affected. As a result, African countries sometimes lose an estimated 1%-2% of their gross domestic product in a year. Africa’s message at COP30 will be clear: investing in nature is investing in people. By 2050, the continent’s urban population will double, putting pressure on housing, transport, and energy systems, but also creating opportunities for innovation. The urgent imperative for Africa at COP30 is to redefine adaptation. Rather than treating it primarily as a humanitarian project, African governments must integrate adaptation into their industrial policies. To invest in climate-resilient agriculture, infrastructure, and water systems, generates jobs, fosters innovation, and spurs market integration and by linking adaptation to industrialization, Africa can continue shifting the narrative from vulnerability to value creation. The continent’s leaders should also call for adaptation finance to be integrated into broader trade and technology frameworks.

The African Development Bank has estimated that Africa needs between US$1.3 trillion and US$1.6 trillion in total climate financing every year between 2020 and 2030. Africa should have a robust commitments and negotiate climate finance with one voice for being listened.