Bel©m: World leaders and international officials, including UN Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres, warned during a summit in Brazil ahead of the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) - scheduled from November 10 to 21 - that the world may fail to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the most ambitious target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
According to Emirates News Agency, the summit's opening day featured speeches from heads of state and delegates assessing global efforts to curb climate change, two years after the historic consensus reached at COP28 in the UAE, where countries agreed to gradually transition away from fossil fuels. French President Emmanuel Macron stated that each nation must establish its own strategy for a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels.
Brazilian President Luiz In¡cio Lula da Silva presented a 'roadmap' outlining his country's priorities for COP30, including the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund. Speaking from Bel©m in the Amazon, he announced that Brazil would allocate $1 billion to the fund, which is expected to reach $25 billion through partner governments, with hopes of later attracting an additional $100 billion from private sector investors.
Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) Moussa Faki Mahamat noted that the African continent is leading the way toward a fair, inclusive, low-carbon future, highlighting contributions from solar fields to young innovators in green technology. He lamented, however, that Africa, despite holding about 40% of global renewable energy potential, receives less than 12% of climate finance.
Dozens of world leaders gathered in Bel©m for the two-day summit ahead of COP30's official opening on Monday, which will bring together tens of thousands of participants from nearly 200 countries to discuss urgent measures to combat global warming.