Amid tensions in the West over cuts to development funding and souring US relationships with its allies, Brazil’s COP30 president, André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, defended multilateralism and the legacy of UN climate talks in his first address as chief of this year’s climate summit.

On Wednesday, Corrêa do Lago told a plenary meeting at UN headquarters in New York he hopes Brazil can provide a “decisive impulse” in protecting the “institutional legacy we built together over three decades”, as well as accelerating implementation of the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.

“Brazil has the firm conviction that there is no future progress for humanity without deep, rapid and sustained cooperation among all countries,” said the veteran Brazilian diplomat, who also highlighted the outcomes of the previous two COPs.

His comments hold significance as climate-change sceptic US President Donald Trump has kick-started the process to pull the US out of the global climate accord it adopted in 2015, backed the expansion of fossil fuel production on American soil, and refused to deliver promised climate finance.

On Thursday, the EU’s climate information service Copernicus said February 2025 was the third-warmest February globally, with the average temperature reaching 1.59 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, and the extent of sea ice in both polar regions falling to a new all-time minimum that month.

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But despite Corrêa do Lago’s appeal for international unity in New York, longstanding grievances on climate aid emerged as countries outlined their negotiating positions. In a statement read by Iraq, the G77 group representing all developing countries called on wealthy nations to deliver more funding.

“The developing countries’ expectations were not met (at COP29),” Iraqi ambassador Abbas Kadhim Obaid told the UN plenary. “COP29 failed to deliver the crucial support essential for developing countries to achieve a just transition towards low-carbon development pathways, or to prepare and adapt to the devastating impact of climate change.”

At last year’s COP29 in Azerbaijan, rich nations agreed to channel at least $300 billion a year by 2035 to ramp up climate action in vulnerable countries as part of a new finance goal, after bad-tempered talks whose outcome was criticised as inadequate by developing states and activists alike.

At the UN this week, those divisions remained stark, with Australia and the European Union downplaying the role of government climate funding and instead calling for a bigger contribution from private finance.

“Let’s be honest. The needs for climate-related investment are so vast that they can never be met solely by the provision of public finance and mobilisation of finance through public interventions. A strong enabling environment for investment is not optional – it’s essential,” said the EU’s representative.

In November, countries will gather in the city of Belém, in Brazil’s Amazon region, to finalise a roadmap intended to help mobilise a larger sum of $1.3 trillion a year by 2035 from all available sources. Governments are also expected to unveil their new nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by September, outlining targets and plans to cut planet-heating emissions by the same year.

Fossil-fuel transition pledge

At COP28 in Dubai, countries reached a landmark decision to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, based on the first Global Stocktake (GST) of climate policies under the Paris pact. Corrêa do Lago highlighted this decision as one of the main outcomes from past climate negotiations.

But there has since been little reaffirmation of that pledge nor any concrete indication of how countries will put it into practice. References to it were removed from both a COP16 biodiversity deal in Cali last year and final decisions at COP29 in Baku, after Saudi Arabia said it would not accept text that mentioned fossil fuels. The climate summit ended with no outcome on stepping up emissions cuts.

This week’s UN meeting heard renewed calls for greater ambition at COP30. “The world expects real progress on transitioning away from fossil fuels at COP30,” the EU’s delegate said. “We simply cannot afford to have two COPs without an outcome on mitigation.”

COP30 President Corrêa do Lago did not explicitly call out fossil fuels, but did mention that the Global Stocktake – the process that led to the COP28 fossil fuel transition pledge – is “the unanimous reference that informs international cooperation”, adding “the GST stands as our guide to Mission 1.5”.

Brazil’s leadership on climate action has been questioned as President Lula da Silva has made a strong push to begin oil drilling in the mouth of the Amazon river, even seeking expedited approval for projects.

Lula’s government pushes for new oil drilling in the Amazon – where it will host COP30

In New York, as the EU pushed for more ambitious emissions reductions, the Africa Group, India and China said developing countries should be given flexibility. India’s UN ambassador Parvathaneni Harish said efforts to move away from the principle that industrialised nations bear the biggest burden would “risk undermining the trust and cooperation necessary for global action”.

“We advocate for solutions that combine the development of renewable energy with the sustainable use of our natural resources, avoiding restrictions that could hinder economic growth and energy access for millions of Africans,” said Angolan UN ambassador José da Cruz.

China, the world’s biggest emitter, urged developed countries to ramp up the pace on their climate goals. “[They] should show greater ambition and take actions in fulfilling the obligations of taking the lead by reducing emissions and achieving carbon neutrality ahead of schedule,” said the Chinese delegate.

Countries are due to deliver their NDCs ahead of COP30, with Brazil, the US and Japan among the few to have submitted theirs already. At the UN plenary, some big emitters like the EU, Australia and Mexico said they were working to deliver their plans on time, while China and India did not mention theirs.

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Can Amazon COP cope?

The UN climate process began in Brazil over three decades ago, with the adoption of the Rio Conventions. Now, countries return to the South American nation at a crucial moment of climate extremes, a disengaged United States and urgent calls to boost ambition in climate policies as the world heats up.

The annual UN climate summit will be hosted for the first time in the Amazon rainforest, in the northern city of Belém. There are concerns over whether the city of 1.3 million people can provide for tens of thousands of conference delegates. At the UN this week, at least three delegations queried the conditions for accommodation and transport.

Corrêa do Lago said Brazil is working to improve infrastructure in Belém. The government has announced a plan to add 26,000 new beds by renovating hotels, rental homes, river cruise boats and even military facilities and schools.

“We agree that Belém is not a city that was designed for this kind of event. It is a medium-sized city in Brazil,” said the COP30 president. “But President Lula is convinced that the symbolism of hosting a conference in the Amazon is significantly more important than the challenges that can be found in its organisation.”

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COP30 chief calls for global unity on climate action as cooperation falters