2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference

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2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Part of United Nations Climate Change Conference
DateNovember 10–21, 2025 (2025-11-10 – 2025-11-21)
Duration11 days
LocationBelém, Pará, Brazil
Also known asCOP30
Previous conference← COP29 Baku 2024
Websitehttp://cop30.br

The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP30, is the upcoming 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025.[1]

The city's candidacy was announced by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his visit to the COP 27, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt,[1] and made official in January 2023.[2][3]

The BBC reported that the summit has been used as a justification to build a new highway cutting through the rain forest.[4] The COP30's organizers and the state of Pará have denied any direct links.[5][6]

Meanwhile, the United States, under President Donald Trump, have closed their office of climate diplomacy.[7][8]

Pre-conference

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A series of construction and revitalization works conducted by the local government took place aiming to improve the city's infrastructure with sustainable techniques. A new square was made surrounding one of the city's main avenues, as well as the sewage and the anti-flooding systems were stepped up.[9][10]

In January 2025, President Lula appointed Brazilian diplomat André Corrêa do Lago as the COP's president.[11] The decision was praised by Brazilian climate activists given Lago's history of leading climate justice discussions, among other things.[12] Lago is a veteran diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a longtime climate negotiator.[13]

Organizational Challenges

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The preparation for Belém to host COP30 has faced significant challenges, notably an accommodation crisis and controversies surrounding urban infrastructure projects.[14] Broader questions have also been raised regarding pollution, social inequality, and deforestation in the Amazon.[15][16][17]

Months before the event, reports of extreme price gouging for lodging emerged. Some listings on platforms like Airbnb were priced as high as US$9,320 per day, up from a normal rate of $11, while a one-person flat on Booking.com was offered for $15,266 per night.[18] These figures supported claims of widespread real estate speculation, with the Brazilian government itself describing prices as "extremely high and incomprehensible."[19]

In response, the Federal government of Brazil announced measures to curb abusive pricing and stated it would make 26,000 additional lodging beds available, utilizing cruise ships, schools, new hotels, and military facilities.[20] However, a previously announced price-regulating agreement with the hotel industry remained unsigned by July 2025, facing resistance from the sector.[18]

The crisis prompted a strong international reaction, with 27 countries signing a letter demanding solutions and some nations pressuring Brazil to move the event to another city.[21] The high costs remained the primary obstacle for attendees, with a UN survey in August 2025 revealing that only 18 of 147 responding nations had secured accommodation.[22] The situation led delegations, such as Austria's, to cancel their participation and also impacted local tenants, who reported being asked by landlords to vacate their homes to make way for high-paying visitors.[23]

Another point of contention is the construction of a new four-lane highway, Avenida Liberdade. A BBC report in March 2025 described the project as being underway to ease traffic in preparation for COP30.[4] The project has drawn criticism from conservationists and residents for its impact on the Amazon rainforest, biodiversity, and local communities.[24] Official organizers and the state of Pará have disputed the highway's connection to the conference. The organizers called the BBC's headline "misleading," stating the project is not a federal responsibility nor part of the official COP30 infrastructure plan.[5] The state government similarly denied the link, underlining that the project was planned as early as 2020—before Belém was chosen as the host city—and received no federal funds for its execution.[6] However, critics note that while the project has been discussed since 2012, the COP may have provided the final justification to begin construction.[6] The state of Pará had also previously cited the conference as one of the interests served by the project.[25]

Conference agenda

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NDCs

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The updated Nationally Determined Contributions, as set out in the Paris Agreement, were to be published by every country by Feb 2025. As of April 2025, only 19 countries submitted theirs.[26]

Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T

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Parties at COP29 in Baku agreed for "all actors to work together to enable the scaling up of financing to developing country Parties for climate action from all public and private sources to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035”, as the “Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T”.[27] Negotiations are expected on how international climate finance is to be scaled from the $300 billion agreed in Baku to the $1.3 trillion.[28]

TFFF

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Brazil, the COP30 presidency, intends to launch the Tropical Forest Forever Facility as a signature achievement in Belem.[29] The $125 billion blended-finance investment fund aims to finalise investments from sovereign funders by COP30 to begin payouts to reward forest conservation in tropical countries in 2026.[30]

Further details are expected after the SB 62 conference in Bonn in June 2025.[31]

COP31

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Australia and Turkey both want to host, but if there is no agreement the 2026 conference will be in Bonn.[32][33]

Cultural responses

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Spanish conceptual artist Josep Piñol Curto created the project Evitada (Avoided) in response to COP30. Originally conceived as a monumental sculpture for the host city of Belém, the work was ultimately not built. Piñol transformed this cancellation into a conceptual critique of greenwashing and carbon offset mechanisms, issuing symbolic carbon credits for the 57,765 tonnes of CO₂ emissions that were “avoided” by not producing the sculpture.[34][35]

References

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  1. ^ a b Alves, Ana Rosa (26 May 2023). "Governo confirma que Belém sediará COP30, em meio a tensões entre Congresso e MMA". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  2. ^ "ONU confirma Belém como sede da COP30, anuncia Lula". Poder 360. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  3. ^ "ONU escolhe Belém para ser sede da COP 30". Metropolis. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. ^ a b Amazon forest felled to build road for climate summit, BBC, March 12, 2025
  5. ^ a b "Note on the report about construction works on Avenida Liberdade in Belém". cop30.br. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  6. ^ a b c "Brazil state hosting COP30 denies new road linked to climate summit". Reuters. March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  7. ^ "US-Regierung schließt Büro für Klimadiplomatie". ORF.at (in Austrian German). 2025-04-26. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  8. ^ Osborne, Louise; Kuebler, Martin (2025-03-26). "Scholz: US risks missing economic gains from climate action". DW. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  9. ^ "Nova Doca: planejada para a COP 30, obra no centro de Belém prevê passarela com mirante, quiosques e playground". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  10. ^ "Belém entrega obra de prevenção a enchentes para a COP30". Exame (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  11. ^ Harvey, Fiona (2025-01-21). "Brazil appoints veteran diplomat as Cop30 president for November summit". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  12. ^ Civillini, Matteo (2025-01-21). "Brazil appoints veteran climate diplomat André Correa do Lago as COP30 president". Climate Home News. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  13. ^ "Quem é André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, escolhido para presidir a COP-30". CartaCapital (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2025-01-21. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
  14. ^ "Presidente da COP30 diz que países pediram retirada do evento de Belém por preços 'extorsivos' em hotéis". G1. 2025-07-31. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  15. ^ "COP30 no Brasil não pode ser decidida por quem quer colonizar Marte, diz Tainá Marajoara". Brasil de Fato (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  16. ^ "Os problemas que Belém precisa resolver antes da COP30". Brasil de Fato (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  17. ^ "A controversa COP-30 e os problemas reais de Belém do Pará". www.gazetadopovo.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  18. ^ a b "COP30: imbróglio entre governo e hotéis por preço de diárias em Belém segue emperrado; entenda a crise". G1. 2025-07-20. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  19. ^ Maisonnave, Fabiano (2025-02-03). "Surreal prices for COP30 in Brazil's Amazon leave attendees scrambling for accommodation". AP News. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  20. ^ "Governo federal propõe acordo com hotéis de Belém para evitar preços 'abusivos' na COP30". G1. 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  21. ^ "Presidente da COP30 diz que países pediram retirada do evento de Belém por preços 'extorsivos' em hotéis". G1. 2025-07-31. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  22. ^ "A três meses da COP30, um quarto dos países participantes tem hospedagem confirmada". O Globo. 2025-08-22. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  23. ^ "COP 30: inquilinos dizem que foram obrigados por proprietários a deixar imóveis alugados em Belém; 'era meu lar', lamenta moradora". G1. 2025-08-22. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  24. ^ "UPDATE – Road to Belem: Highway project to COP30 cuts through Amazon, as Brazil's Atlantic Forest sees "alarming" illegal deforestation « Carbon Pulse". carbon-pulse.com. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  25. ^ "Planeta Verde - Floresta desmatada para abrir avenida: obras em Belém para a COP30 falham na sustentabilidade". RFI (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2025-03-21.
  26. ^ "Climate Watch NDC Tracker". climatewatchdata.org. 14 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  27. ^ Joe Lo; Vivian Chime; Mariel Lozada (2024-11-27). "Explainer: What happened at COP29?". Climate Home News. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  28. ^ Bearak, Max (2024-11-23). "Climate Talks End With a Bitter Fight and a Deal on Money". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  29. ^ Andreoni, Manuela (2024-10-03). "An 'Elegant' Idea Could Pay Billions to Protect Trees". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  30. ^ Iglesias, Simone (14 March 2025). "Brazil Has a $125 Billion Plan to Make COP30 a Rare Climate Success". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  31. ^ "June Climate Meetings (SB 62)". UNFCCC. Archived from the original on 2025-04-04. Retrieved 2025-04-26.
  32. ^ Mason, Hana (2025-10-13). "What Türkiye can do to become a credible climate leader in its bid to host COP31". E3G. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  33. ^ "Australia and Türkiye hit impasse over global climate summit". ABC News. 2025-09-30. Retrieved 2025-10-16.
  34. ^ "The work of art that sells avoided CO₂ to denounce climate greenwashing". Ara English. 20 February 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  35. ^ "Josep Piñol Issues "Cultural Degrowth Credits" to Counter Greenwashing". Surface Magazine. 7 February 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.