Amazon’s COP: will climate action take root?

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Brazil is hosting the 30th edition of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) in November — an event that grows more urgent each year. Despite advances in international commitments to reduce emissions, the ambition behind these goals is proving increasingly insufficient. Many biomes are approaching what scientists call the point of no return — the Amazon among them.

Presiding over the conference in Belém, one of the Amazon’s largest cities, therefore represents one of the greatest responsibilities Brazilian diplomacy has taken on in recent times. Brazil must help ensure that the plans made so far finally move from paper to action.

The challenge is immense, spanning contradictions in domestic policies and the deterioration of international multilateralism. But Brazil’s diplomacy is ambitious. At stake are interests such as boosting climate financing from rich countries to the Global South, creating mechanisms to channel private resources into preserving tropical forests, amplifying Amazonian voices, and promoting the biofuels market.

But how feasible are these goals? How can hosting a COP in the Amazon help achieve them? And what role should Brazil play in the global climate agenda?

To tackle these questions, we invited experts with distinct and diverse backgrounds. The conversation will be hosted by our Deputy Editor Euan Marshall, who leads our weekly Climate Newsletter.

Adriana Ramos Executive Secretary of the Socio-Environmental Institute, a civil society organization that monitors indigenous lands and other environmentally protected areas across Brazil, working both with governments and on the ground. She represented the Brazilian Forum of NGOs on the Amazon Fund Steering Committee from 2008 to 2013 and served on the Executive Board of the Brazilian Association of NGOs.

Carlos Nobre One of the world’s leading climatologists, he is a researcher at the University of São Paulo, co-chair of the Scientific Panel for the Amazon, and a member of academies such as the World Academy of Sciences. He co-authored the research that earned the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 and was also responsible for creating some of Brazil’s main government climate centers, as well as the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in the Amazon.

Natalie Unterstell President of the Talanoa Institute, a Brazilian climate policy think tank, and member of the COP30 Adaptation Council and the accreditation panel of the Green Climate Fund. She holds a master’s degree from Harvard Kennedy School and has served as a negotiator for Brazil in global climate talks, helping lead Brazil’s climate policy development.

Euan Marshall, The Brazilian Report's Deputy Editor who leads our weekly Climate Newsletter.

👉 Reminder: You can leave questions for our experts in advance using the comment box at the bottom of this page, which you will also be able to use to interact during the live event.

This event was produced by Reporter Isabela Cruz.

Read more: If you haven’t yet read Brazil Daily, it’ll give you all the background information you need.