The United Nations commenced climate discussions on Monday near the Brazilian Amazon with a focus on intensifying actions to combat global warming by significantly reducing carbon emissions. Notably, key U.S. representatives were notably absent from the negotiations.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emphasized that addressing the climate emergency is intertwined with addressing inequality. He deliberately chose Belém as the host city to underscore the profound impact of climate change on the Amazon region and its connection to poverty.
President Lula highlighted that rising global temperatures disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities, causing widespread suffering and devastation.
This year’s negotiations are not anticipated to culminate in a groundbreaking agreement. Instead, the conference is framed as an “implementation COP,” with countries expected to present updated national strategies to combat climate change.
Attendees stressed the importance of collaboration, noting that individual countries cannot sufficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions alone, according to U.N. climate secretary Simon Stiell.
“Your collective duty is to combat this climate crisis together,” Stiell emphasized to the negotiators.
Andre Correa do Lago, the conference’s president, emphasized the concept of “mutirão,” a term derived from an Indigenous word that signifies a collective effort towards a common goal.
U.S. skips summit
The absence of high-level U.S. negotiators complicates the discussions, with President Donald Trump’s administration notably absent and withdrawing for the second time from the Paris Agreement, a pivotal global accord aimed at combating climate change.
The Paris Agreement intended to limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a target that many scientists now believe may be challenging to achieve.
While China presently leads in carbon emissions, the U.S. historically has been the largest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel consumption. President Lula criticized climate misinformation without explicitly naming the absent American representatives.
“COP30 will be a platform for truth,” Lula declared. “It is time to defeat climate change denialists who undermine scientific institutions and universities.”
Ilana Seid, the Palau Ambassador and chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, noted that the U.S. withdrawal has significantly impacted the dynamics of the negotiations.
Former U.S. Special Envoy for