The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) formally kicked off in Belém, Brazil, on Monday, mere days after one of the year’s most destructive storms wreaked havoc and killed hundreds across Southeast Asia.
Super Typhoon Fung-wong and Typhoon Kalmaegi are reminders of what’s at stake in these negotiations, which aim to close the global ‘adaptation gap’ by helping developing countries better prepare for (and recover from) increasingly volatile and destructive storms.
The Philippines — ranked seventh globally on the Climate Risk Index, which measures countries’ susceptibility to storms, floods, and heat waves — bore the brunt of the recent typhoons: 259 people died, 523 were injured, and at least 800,000 were displaced.
A recent UN report estimated that the cost of adaptation finance needed in developing countries would hit US$310 billion per year in 2035 — roughly 13 times the amount pledged in 2024.
But funding isn’t the only issue facing COP delegates: global greenhouse gases continue to tick up, record-high temperatures scorch millions each year, and some regard COP itself as simply “not fit for purpose.” As a UN Environment Programme official admitted last week: “We are facing some serious headwinds.”
Compartmentalizing climate
Climate negotiations are expected to be fraught; an estimated 190 countries have sent delegations to the talks, which wrap on November 21. As host, Brazil has indicated that it will focus on implementing existing global climate commitments and adaptation measures.
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also encouraged delegates to challenge “climate change denialists,” a possible reference to U.S. President Donald Trump, who opted not to send a delegation to COP30 and is in the process of pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. At an International Maritime Organization meeting in London last month, American officials also allegedly threatened countries seeking to cut global shipping emissions. Canada, China, Japan, and the European Union supported the policy in a provisional vote in April.
At the beginning of COP30, the UN’s climate chief pleaded with attendees to leave their disputes at the door: “Your job here is not to fight one another,” said Simon Stiell. “Your job here is to fight this climate crisis, together.”
Key leaders absent
Several world leaders are notably absent from COP30, including Trump, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose countries collectively account for nearly half of global emissions. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also skipped the summit; Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s environment minister, is leading the delegation. France and the U.K., fellow G7 members, sent their leaders.
According to U.K.-based climate change website Carbon Brief, China boasts the second-largest delegation to COP30. Other Indo-Pacific countries are well-represented, namely Indonesia (4th), Australia (8th), Japan (10th), South Korea (23rd), and Canada (26th).
Carney’s first federal budget, released last week, proposes maintaining Canada’s industrial carbon pricing system, imposing stricter methane regulations for the oil and gas sector, and establishing a Youth Climate Corps, among other policies. The House of Commons is expected to vote on the budget on Monday.
