Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Belém, Brazil, November 7 - Amidst disparate climate promises, the COP30 Leaders' Summit concludes today in this northern Amazonian city, having outlined political pathways for the official meeting set to begin on November 10.
The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which runs until the 21st, will be marked by the urgency of translating these pronouncements into real commitments.
The forum ending this Friday, attended by 57 Heads of State and Government, and 143 delegations from around the world, solidified itself as a rehearsal for the most anticipated event on the environmental calendar.
The debates on this second and final day will revolve around the energy transition and the assessment of a decade of the Paris Agreement, with a focus on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and climate finance, which remains insufficient to meet the magnitude of the challenge.
From the outset, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva imbued the summit with a tone of moral and political urgency.
Accelerating the energy transition and protecting nature are the two most effective ways to contain global warming, he affirmed, noting that these objectives will only be achievable if deforestation is reversed, dependence on fossil fuels is overcome, and resources are mobilized on a large scale.
With an emotional voice, Lula evoked the symbolism of holding the forum in the heart of the Amazon, the largest tropical rainforest on the planet, and reminded everyone that the future of the climate, as well as global equilibrium, are being decided there.
He warned that humanity faces a critical moment. 2024 was the first year in which the Earth's average temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Science indicates that this increase will persist for years or decades, but we cannot abandon the goal of the Paris Agreement, he insisted.
In a historical review, he recalled that it took 28 conferences to recognize the need to move away from fossil fuels and stop deforestation, and one more year to admit that climate finance must be expanded to $1.3 trillion.
Beyond the speeches, the summit meeting calls for coherence and action.
Lula summarized it with a phrase that resonates in the halls of the Plenary Hall: COP30 will be the COP of truth. It is time to face reality and decide if we have the courage to transform it, he emphasized.
Three days before the start of the conference, Belém is preparing to receive thousands of participants (leaders, governments, scientists, activists, indigenous peoples, and civil society), all convinced of the need for a new global pact for life, because there is no time to lose and there is no spare planet. (Text and photo: PL)
