Environment

Brazil is Breathing Life into Climate Commitments—Human Rights Lawyer

By Joyce Chimbi
Binaifer Nowrojee, a human rights lawyer and the president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), has lauded the Brazilian government “for significant steps taken to breathe life into the climate commitments.”

Poor Countries Welcome Loss and Damage Fund’s Call for Requests, Warn It Falls Short of Needs

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
Least Developed Countries have hailed the debut call for proposals for the Loss and Damage Fund, which was launched on 11 November at the United Nations climate summit known as COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

Without Truth, There Can Be No Climate Justice—Experts

By Tanka Dhakal
Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém are appealing for collective action to combat climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.

Demonstrators Face-Off With Security as COP30 Activism Intensifies

By Joyce Chimbi
In a departure from the past three COPs, in Egypt, Dubai and Azerbaijan, there have been increasingly intense demonstrations from activists at the COP30 venue in Belém, the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará.

Hollow Promises or Hope?
COP30 Brazil – Moment of Truth for the Planet

By James Alix Michel
COP30 Brazil, though shadowed by the absence of many world leaders, remains a pivotal milestone in the global fight against climate change, tasked with building on the Paris Agreement’s momentum. Yet the glaring lack of commitment, coupled with withdrawals from the accord, casts a grim shadow over the future. The planet continues to warm, and scientists warn that current targets may not prevent a catastrophic temperature spike. While the summit’s focus on implementation not just new promises—is a welcome shift, it’s clear: words alone won’t cool the Earth.

Heat and Government Omissions Fuel Fires in Mexico

By Emilio Godoy
“This issue has been spiralling out of control year after year. The first responders are the communities themselves. There is no information explaining what a wildfire is in our native language (Mixtec), not even a pamphlet or video that can be distributed”, indigenous language education student Estela Aranda tells IPS.

Indigenous Knowledge Holders Want to Be Acknowledged

By Tanka Dhakal
Generational lived experiences are key to confronting and living with a changing climate, say Indigenous knowledge holders and activists at the UN Climate Conference (COP30). As the first COP to be held in the Amazon region, in Belém, representatives of Indigenous communities reiterated the importance of generationally transferred knowledge and skills to adapt to and mitigate the threats posed by climate change.

A Tale of Two Cities – Belém, Nairobi and Why Global Tax Justice Must be at Center of Climate Crisis Response

By Ian Gary
The climate crisis is getting worse and requires fundamental changes to societies, economies, and our global financial architecture in response. While extreme economic inequality is on the rise – the world's billionaires now hold more wealth in the world than every country except the U.S. and China – the impacts of climate change are also unequally felt, with the poor in the Global South and North most at risk.

COP30’s Crossroads: To Accelerate Implementation or Make More Promises?

By Joyce Chimbi
“Devastating climate damages are happening already, from Hurricane Melissa hitting the Caribbean, Super Typhoons smashing Vietnam and the Philippines to a tornado ripping through Southern Brazil,” said Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, on the eve of COP30 in the Amazonian City of Belém. “This is why COP must achieve three things: It must send a clear signal: nations are fully on board for climate cooperation—that means agreeing to strong outcomes on all the key issues.”

The Top Climate Leaders Are Now in The Global South

By Erik Solheim
When world leaders now gather in Belém, Brazil for the UN climate conference, expectations will be modest. Few believe the meeting will produce any breakthroughs. The United States is retreating from climate engagement. Europe is distracted. The UN is struggling to keep relevant in the 21st century.

‘We Want a Place at the Negotiation Table’ — Indigenous Leader

By Tanka Dhakal
Indigenous leaders from across the Amazon region are calling on climate negotiators to base climate initiatives on the recognition of the land rights of affected Indigenous communities. From the COP30 venue in Belém, these leaders are demanding full participation in the design and implementation of proposed projects.

COP30: The Age of Irrationality in Climate Policy

By Pedro Barata
I have been working on climate policy since the late 1990s. I was in the room when Europe’s early carbon market discussions were shaping the architecture that would eventually underpin the Kyoto Protocol.

In the Heart of the Amazon: COP 30 and the Fate of the Planet

By Asoka Bandarage
My recent visit to Brazil coincided partly with the Conference of the Parties (COP) 30, the 30th United Nations Climate Conference in Belém. Although I did not attend COP 30, I was very fortunate to visit the Amazon.

The Silent War Before COP30: How Corporations Are Weaponising the Law to Muzzle Climate Defenders

By Bibbi Abruzzini and Lucia Torres (Forus) and Jake Wieczorek (Hivos)
As the world prepares for the next COP30 summit, a quieter battle is raging in courtrooms. Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) are the fossil-fuel industry’s new favourite weapon, turning justice systems into instruments of intimidation.

Turning Indigenous Territories From ‘Sacrifice’ Zones to Thriving Forest Ecosystems

By Umar Manzoor Shah
A report by the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC) and Earth Insight paints a stark picture of how extractive industries, deforestation, and climate change are converging to endanger the world’s last intact tropical forests and the Indigenous Peoples who protect them.

Brazil’s Biofuels Push Undermines Environmental Integrity at COP30

By Cian Delaney
President Prabowo Subianto welcomed his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil to Jakarta recently to strengthen ties between the fast-growing economies.

US Skips High-Level Presence at COP30 Climate Summit

By Thalif Deen
“Has the world given up fighting climate change?” was a rhetorical question posed recently by the New York Times, perhaps with a degree of sarcasm. It might look that way, says Christiana Figueres, a founding partner of the nongovernmental organization Global Optimism, “as US president Donald Trump blusters about fossil fuel, Bill Gates prioritizes children’s health over climate protection, and oil and gas companies plan decades of higher production.”

What’s Now Needed is Political Courage, Says UN SG Guterres at COP30

By Cecilia Russell
Political courage is the biggest obstacle to limiting the rise in global average temperature to no more than 1.5°C, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. 

Global Emissions Falling Too Slowly, Expert Urges Renewables Push, Fair Finance

By Umar Manzoor Shah
A decade has passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and a United Nations synthesis report released ahead of COP30 in Belém shows that "Parties are bending their combined emission curve further downwards, but still not quickly enough."

Hurricane Melissa Devastates The Caribbean As The UN Distributes Lifesaving Aid

By Oritro Karim
In late October, Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 storm, made landfall in the Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage to civilian infrastructure and a devastating loss of life. Humanitarian agencies have mobilized on the ground to deliver urgent assistance to affected communities facing widespread destruction of homes, mass displacement, fatalities, and severe shortages of essential services, including food, water, medicine, shelter, and electricity.

The World’s Forests Cannot Wait: Why COP30 Must Center Indigenous Peoples’ and Local Communities’ Leadership

By Juan Carlos Jintiach and M. Florencia Librizzi
As world leaders prepare to gather in Brazil for COP30 next week, they will convene in the heart of the Amazon -- a fitting location for what must become a turning point in how the world addresses the intertwined crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
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