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THE TRUTH ABOUT: Belem | History Defined

Wars destroy lives and the climate. Why aren’t we counting military emissions?

When delegates gathered for COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025, they scrutinized various sectors of the global economy for their contributions to rising greenhouse gases. Agriculture, aviation, steel, cement — all were on the table. One topic not discussed was war.

The Conversation

Climate adaptation has a new global plan. What the Belem indicators are and why they matter to Africa

At the 2025 global climate summit, COP30, held in Belém, Brazil, one decision stood out with major consequences for Africa: countries agreed on a new set of progress indicators.

The Conversation

The battle over a global energy transition is on between petro-states and electro-states – here’s what to watch for in 2026

Two years ago, countries around the world set a goal of “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner.” The plan included tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency gains by 2030 – important steps for slowing climate change since the energy…

The Conversation

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Millions of hectares are still being cut down every year. How can we protect global forests?

Ahead of the United Nations climate summit in Belém last month, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva urged world leaders to agree to roadmaps away from fossil fuels and deforestation and pledge the resources to meet these goals.

The Conversation

‘We’re true guardians of the forest’: quilombola community near Belém demand land rights and recognition

Short boat ride from Cop30 host, Afro-descendant residents of Menino Jesus say their voices are not being heard

The Guardian - UK

Cop30 saw important developments amid huge disappointment

This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage was first published in our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter, Imagine.

The Conversation

COP30: petrostates block climate deal once again, but some countries are taking their own decisive steps to phase out fossil fuels

The latest United Nations climate summit (COP30) was held between 10 and 21 November in Belém, Brazil. Although the event did not end with any significant progress towards the goals of mitigating global warming or advancing climate finance, it did leave us with one positive outcome: a group of countries…

The Conversation

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The demands of young people went unfulfilled by the UN climate summit – mostly

At the UN climate conference Cop30 in Belém, Brazil, I asked some young climate activists and negotiators about their hopes, expectations and demands. Despite their positivity and the push for action from climate movements, Indigenous people and civil society, a lack of consensus on key issues was palpable.

The Conversation

How stories of personal experience cut through climate fatigue in ways that global negotiations can’t

When Cop30 convened in Belém, deep inside the Amazon, the world’s attention turned once again to negotiations, emissions pledges and political manoeuvring. The global stage was set against one of Earth’s most biodiverse landscapes and some of its most vulnerable communities, yet the conversation still leaned heavily toward geopolitics rather…

The Conversation

Why hosting the UN climate summit in the Amazon was so important, despite the disappointing outcome

Extreme heat, fires and flooding – all hallmark consequences of climate change – directly influenced this year’s UN climate change conference Cop30 in Belém, Brazil.

The Conversation

Cop30: five reasons the UN climate conference failed to deliver on its ‘people’s summit’ promise

As the sun set on the Amazon, the promise of a “people’s Cop” faded with it. The latest UN climate summit – known as Cop30, hosted in the Brazilian city of Belém – came with the usual geopolitics and the added excitement of a flood and a fire.

The Conversation

UN warns world losing climate battle but fragile Cop30 deal keeps up the fight

Reaching agreement in divisive political landscape shows ‘climate cooperation is alive and kicking’, says UN climate chief

The Guardian - UK

Trump, war, absent media: five threats to climate progress that dogged Cop30

Did the talks succeed or fail? The verdict must take account of the geopolitical minefield they took place in

The Guardian - UK

This year’s climate talks saw real progress – just not on fossil fuels

It wasn’t a comfortable process for the tens of thousands of delegates trying to hash out progress on climate change on the edge of the Amazon in Belém, Brazil. I experienced the challenges of the United Nations COP30 climate talks firsthand.

The Conversation

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The Independent UK

A lack of leadership proved to be the ultimate stumbling block for Cop30

Multilateralism survived another year at Cop30 in Brazil – but the outcome was far below the level of ambition that is needed to address the climate crisis, writes our climate correspondent Nick Ferris from Belem

The Conversation

The world lost the climate gamble. Now it faces a dangerous new reality

Ten years ago the world’s leaders placed a historic bet. The 2015 Paris agreement aimed to put humanity on a path to avert dangerous climate change. A decade on, with the latest climate conference ending in Belém, Brazil, without decisive action, we can definitively say humanity has lost this bet.

The Guardian - UK

‘It’s like arguing with robots’: negotiators on the state of Cop30 talks

Three representatives of developing countries speak candidly about meetings behind closed doors in Belém

The Conversation

Environment and health: a connection that remains unseen in the Climate Change Conferences

In a conversation with Luciana Julião, environment editor at The Conversation Brasil, during COP30 in Belém, Fiocruz researcher and environmental health specialist Sandra Hacon explained why the integration of climate, environment and health has guided her research for two decades. Hacon has a background in biology and ecology and is…

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The Conversation

The world’s new US$125 billion rainforest trust fund revives a 1990s idea – and shows its limits

A US$125 billion rainforest fund is being hailed as a flagship announcement from the 2025 UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil. The goal is noble: this is essentially a trust fund that will pay countries to keep their tropical forests standing. But its core idea was tried 30 years ago,…

The Conversation

Behind the scenes in Belém: The Conversation’s report from Brazil’s UN climate summit

This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage was first published in our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter, Imagine.

The Independent UK

Why the Cop summit is failing to win over the residents of its host city

ON THE GROUND: Residents of Belém’s favelas – or ‘baixadas’ as they are known here – tell Nick Ferris of the daily climate challenges they are facing and explain why they are sceptical that Cop30 will really help them

The Conversation

Artificial intelligence is front and centre at COP30

We live in a time often characterized as a polycrisis. One of those crises is human-caused climate change, an issue currently being discussed by delegates at the COP30 climate talks in Belém, Brazil.

The Independent UK

A fight for survival – the reality of life in the Amazon in the shadow of Cop30

ON THE GROUND: A short boat ride from Cop30 lies the home of Seu Ladi, who tells Nick Ferris how deforestation and climate change has changed life in Belém – while others warn of a potentially devastating risks to future of the forest

Euronews

German Chancellor Merz blasts Belém, rattling Brazilians

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sparked outrage with a derogatory comment about his visit to the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, saying that the delegation was happy to be back in Berlin from "this place".

The Conversation

Far beyond the climate crisis: COP30 must seek to build a new model of civilisation

Since 6 November 2025, Belém has become the centre of attention for the entire planet for two weeks. COP 30 is bringing together a record number of delegations, dozens of heads of state and intense public participation. President Lula transferred the government to the capital of Pará, symbolising Brazil’s commitment…

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