World Leaders to Rally Climate Fight Ahead of Amazon Summit

AFP/APP

Belém, Brazil: World leaders are gathering Thursday in the Brazilian Amazon to reaffirm that climate change remains a global priority, even amid unfulfilled pledges and the absence of the United States, which has opted to skip the event.

Around 50 heads of state and government are expected in Belém for the two-day summit ahead of the annual UN Conference of Parties (COP) climate negotiations opening next week.

Almost every nation will be represented — except the United States, whose President Donald Trump has dismissed climate science as a “con job.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron are among those expected to attend, while major economies such as China and India are sending deputies or climate ministers.

The choice of Belém — a city of 1.4 million residents, half of whom live in working-class favelas — has stirred debate due to limited infrastructure and soaring accommodation costs that threaten to exclude smaller delegations and NGOs.

Authorities have poured resources into new construction and renovations, yet with less than a day before the summit’s opening, journalists and delegates arriving Wednesday found construction works still underway at the COP venue.

Despite the disarray, locals expressed pride.

“The COP is bringing Belém the recognition it deserves,” said Karol Farias, 34, a makeup artist shopping at the newly renovated Ver-o-Peso Market.

Uphill Battle

Brazil is not aiming for a landmark agreement at COP30, but rather to signal unity and resolve in global climate action at a time of growing uncertainty.

However, the absence of the United States will loom large — as will Brazil’s controversial approval of oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River.

The lack of new ambitious pledges and the UN’s warning that the world is on track to miss the 1.5°C warming limit set in the Paris Agreement further dampen expectations.

Brazil is also struggling to house low-income delegations, with few affordable options available. The COP30 presidency announced Tuesday that three cruise ships would provide free accommodation for delegates from low-income countries.

Officials acknowledge that rallying support for climate action amid wars, trade tensions, budget constraints, and a populist backlash against green policies will be an uphill battle.

Adding to the challenge, a recent global vote to curb shipping pollution collapsed under US pressure, highlighting divisions over decarbonization goals.

“Leaders in Belém need to deliver a clear mandate to be ambitious and close the gap on burning issues,” said Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director of Greenpeace Brazil, speaking from the organization’s Rainbow Warrior vessel docked in the city’s port.

‘Enough Talk’

Rather than issuing a flurry of new commitments, Brazil has framed the summit as a moment of accountability.

“Enough talking — now we have to implement what we’ve already discussed,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said earlier this week.

Brazil is also promoting a global rainforest protection fund to reward tropical nations that safeguard forests — a move designed to tie conservation with economic incentives.

The summit will emphasize adaptation financing, a top demand from developing and climate-vulnerable countries seeking help to build resilience against floods, droughts, and rising seas.

“This is not charity, but a necessity,” said Evans Njewa, a Malawian diplomat and chair of the Least Developed Countries bloc, calling for climate finance to rise to $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 — the estimated need for the developing world.

The hosts also face growing pressure to respond to the failure to meet the 1.5°C target agreed under the Paris Accord nearly a decade ago.

Even if all current pledges are met, global warming is projected to hit 2.5°C by the end of the century.

“For many of our countries, we won’t be able to adapt our way out of something that overshoots two degrees,” warned Ilana Seid, a diplomat from Palau and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States.

Small island nations and developing states are urging fossil fuel phase-downs and deeper emissions cuts, while Brazil plans to propose a roadmap for reducing fossil fuels — a goal Lula admits will be “difficult” but “necessary.”