00:00This year's United Nations Climate Summit promises to be symbolic, marking a
00:07decade since the Paris Agreement and taking place in the environmentally
00:11vulnerable Amazon. But what is actually on the agenda? The marathon negotiations
00:17gather nearly every country to confront a challenge that affects them all. But
00:22unlike recent additions, this summit has no single theme or objective. That does
00:27not mean big polluters will get off easily at COP30 in Brazil, with climate
00:32vulnerable nations frustrated at their level of ambition and financial
00:36assistance to those most affected by a warming planet. Here are the big issues
00:41to look for as world leaders gather in the city of Belem before the start of
00:46formal negotiations the following week.
00:50The world is not cutting emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris
00:58Agreement, and no amount of pomp and pageantry at COP30 will be able to
01:03sugarcoat that uncomfortable reality. Under the climate accord, signatory nations are
01:09required every five years to submit stronger targets for cutting greenhouse gas
01:13emissions, thereby steadily raising the collective effort to reduce global warming
01:17over time. The latest round of pledges for 2035 were due in February to give the UN
01:23time before COP30 to assess the quality of these commitments. Most nations missed
01:28that deadline, but by early November, about 65 had turned in their revised plans. Few have
01:34impressed and China's target in particular fell well below expectations. The
01:39European Union, riven by infighting between member states, cannot agree on its
01:44target, while India is another major emitter yet to finalize its pledge. A
01:50reckoning could be coming in Belem, Brazil, which described the latest round of
01:54pledges as, the vision of our shared future, is facing pressure to marshal a
01:59response.
02:00Money, specifically, how much rich countries give poorer ones to adapt to climate change
02:12and shift to a low-carbon future, is a likely point of conflict in Belem, as in past COPs.
02:17Last year, after two weeks of acrimonious haggling, COP29 ended unhappily with developed nations agreeing
02:24to provide $300 billion a year in climate finance to developing ones by 2035, well
02:30below what is needed. They also set a much less specific target of helping raise $1.3
02:35trillion annually by 2035 from public and private sources. Developing nations will be
02:41demanding some actual detail about this at COP30. Adaptation is a major focus of the
02:46summit, particularly a funding shortfall to assist vulnerable nations in protecting
02:51their people from climate impacts, such as building coastal defenses against rising
02:56seas.
03:03Brazil chose to host COP30 in Belem because of its proximity to the Amazon, an ideal stage
03:09to draw the world's attention to the vital role of the rainforest in fighting climate change.
03:14At COP30, the hosts will launch a new, innovative, global fund that proposes rewarding countries
03:20with high tropical forest cover that keep trees standing instead of chopping them down.
03:26The Tropical Forests Forever facility aims to raise up to $25 billion from sponsor countries
03:33and another $100 billion from the private sector, which is invested on financial markets.
03:39Brazil has already kicked in $1 billion. Clement Hillary from Greenpeace told AFP the Tropical
03:47Forests Forever facility could be a step forward in protecting tropical forests if accompanied
03:52by clearer steps at COP30 towards ending deforestation by 2030. The destruction of tropical primary forest
03:59hit a record high in 2024, according to Global Forest Watch, a deforestation monitor. The equivalent
04:06of 18 football fields per minute was lost, driven mostly by massive fires.
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