Global climate diplomacy must shift focus from highly “politicised” negotiations to advancing real collective action on the ground to remain credible, Brazil’s COP30 presidency has warned.

In a long letter setting out his vision, André Aranha Corrêa Do Lago, president-designate for this year’s UN climate summit in the Amazon city of Belém, called for a “new era” in which “words and texts” agreed by countries bring about economic and social transformation.

The seasoned diplomat set out his belief that it is necessary to find solutions beyond the multilateral climate regime and “create levers” in other institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, while working more closely with regional governments, civil society and the private sector.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the letter’s publication on Monday, Do Lago suggested a more pragmatic approach could help circumvent some of the longstanding divisions in climate talks. “There are few negotiations that are as politicised as climate change negotiations,” he said.

“You can see very clearly that there are limits to what the UNFCCC [the UN climate body] and the Paris Agreement can do in implementation,” Do Lago added. “We need to be much more practical, much more objective, much quicker so that we can use other institutions in the best way possible. We have to think of those who are really going to implement the COP decisions.”

New approach for challenging times

Marking ten years since countries agreed to the landmark Paris pact, COP30 will have to contend with an unprecedented geopolitical context.

US President Donald Trump is pulling the US out of the international climate agreement, while slashing financial support for global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a warming world. While, on paper, major European nations have reiterated their commitment to climate action, their attention is increasingly shifting towards security concerns, with defence spending taking precedence.

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Ambassador Do Lago acknowledged the world has changed in just a few months, ushering in a “really challenging context” for climate diplomacy.

But, he added, this creates an opportunity to be “very open”, engage as many actors as possible and find a better path towards combating climate change.

The US remains a “central” country for climate discussions and solutions, Do Lago told reporters. “There is the US government that will probably limit its participation [but] the US is a country with such amazing technology, amazing innovation – this is the US that can contribute,” he added.

‘Circle of Presidencies’

Brazil wants to set up a new mechanism called the “Circle of Presidencies” to advise on the political process and the implementation of climate action. The country presidencies of the last nine climate COPs – from Paris to Baku – and the current presidencies of the UN talks on biodiversity and desertification will be invited to join the body and provide suggestions on the future of global climate governance.

As all countries are due to submit their updated national climate plans this year, before COP30, Brazil plans to “stimulate a frank collective reflection on bottlenecks that have been hampering climate ambition and implementation”, Do Lago wrote in his letter.

He also indicated that Brazil will work together with COP29 host Azerbaijan on a “roadmap” to scale up climate finance to developing countries from all public and private sources to at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035. Countries agreed to that headline figure in the final moments of last year’s summit, without specifying where the money would come from.

“Experts are clear: we only have a few years. If climate goals are to be achieved, both adaptation and mitigation financing will need to be increased many-fold,” Do Lago said.

‘Ethical stocktake’

The incoming president then spotlighted some of the thorny negotiating issues that still need to be resolved in Belém after flopping at COP29, including the work programme on just transition and the dialogue on implementing the outcomes of the Global Stocktake, issued at COP28 after a review of the world’s climate plans.

The COP30 presidency has also announced it will hold an “ethical stocktake” through which a “diverse” group of scientists, religious leaders, philosophers, indigenous people and others can suggest ways of dealing with climate change.

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Observers broadly welcomed the vision announced by Do Lago.

Ilan Zugman, Latin America and Caribbean director for climate campaign 350.org, called the detailed letter “an encouraging sign” that “signals an intent to shape the agenda” and “emphasises unity”.

But he warned that COP30 “must be about delivering action, not just having discussions and announcing commitments without clear ways for them to be implemented”.

Adaptation no longer a choice

Do Lago also called on countries to embrace the spirit of mutirão – a Brazilian concept inherited from Indigenous culture, meaning communal effort – in historically fraught discussions over measures to cut emissions.

Negotiations on the so-called mitigation work programme (MWP) ended in deadlock at COP29 amid bitter divisions between the vast majority of countries – including developed and Latin American nations, small-island states and least developed countries, on the one hand – and China, Arab and African states on the other.

“Instead of suspicion in polarized negotiations, the MWP has the vocation of becoming a platform for breakthroughs and trust-building through action and cooperation when leveraging opportunities, overcoming barriers, and exploring actionable solutions,” Do Lago wrote. The letter did not specify how the gaps could be bridged.

The COP30 president also emphasised the importance of making progress on adaptation. Countries are expected to agree on a series of indicators for the global goal on adaptation which experts hope could unlock more financial support for efforts to boost climate resilience. This work remains critically underfunded.

“Adaption is no longer a choice, nor does it compete with mitigation,” Do Lago wrote. “Climate adaptation is the vehicle for care and repair towards collective transformation”.

Forests in the spotlight

With COP30 being held in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil is also keen to showcase the “extraordinary role” played by carbon-absorbing forests, and those who protect them, in keeping global warming in check. “Forests can buy us time in climate action in our rapidly closing window of opportunity,” Do Lago wrote in the letter, calling for an increase in efforts to reverse forest loss.

Toya Manchineri, of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations in the Amazon Basin, said that “while forest protection is essential”, the root causes of the climate crisis need to be addressed, including phasing out fossil fuels.

“The cautious approach in the letter on this issue calls for more courage and ambition,” he added.

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Brazil’s COP30 president: Climate summits must move from words to real action