 "The Cop30 logotype at Docks Station in Belem, Para state, Brazil. (Photo: AFP)")
US President Donald Trump will not be at the 30th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Cop30) at Brazil’s Belem, but he will still define the summit.
As the world’s tallest climate change denier, Trump has essentially killed years of progress in efforts to tackle climate change. He has announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, rolled back clean energy investments, and has doubled down on the extraction and promotion of fossil fuels.
In doing so, Trump has not just set back climate agenda back by years, but he has also handed over the leadership on climate agenda and global clean energy transition to China. And it is visible at Belem.
Cop30 starts without agenda
The Cop30 will start at Belem without any clear agenda.
Among major issues believed to be on the agenda are figuring out a pathway regarding a 2023 pledge to wean off polluting energy sources and demand for financing to make that happen, according to Reuters.
But the focus could very well be on low-hanging fruits that don’t need consensus or hefty commitments.
“My preference is not to need a COP decision. If countries have an overwhelming desire for a COP decision, we will certainly think about it and deal with it," said COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, according to Reuters.
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View AllBrazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has said he hopes that countries will consider setting a plan for quitting fossil fuels. But how that will happen is a great mystery, according to do Lago.
“How are we going to do this? Is there going to be consensus about how we are going to do it? This is one of the great mysteries of COP30,” do Lago said.
Other possible issues for the agenda include figuring out how countries will cut emissions further as their current plans have been falling short of what’s needed to limit extreme global warming, according to the report.
By Monday morning, 106 countries have submitted new climate plans, the report said.
Countries like India and South Korea are yet to submit plans, the report said.
Countries also want to address financial and action targets for adapting to the conditions of a warmer world with the hope that development banks can undergo enough reform to ensure more money, including from the private sector, goes to these goals, the report said.
Trump makes China world leader in climate change
In another case of Trump’s ‘make China great again’ agenda, the withdrawal of the United States from global climate leadership has put China at the centre.
Do Lago noted the rise of China’s importance in the talks in the interview as the United States has promised to exit the Paris Agreement and the European Union struggles to maintain its ambition amid worries over energy security.
Do Lago said, “Emerging countries are appearing in this COP with a different role. China is coming with solutions for everyone.”
Do Lago noted that inexpensive green technologies from China were now leading the energy transition worldwide.
“You start complaining that China is moving the GDP all over the world,” he said. But “that is great for climate,” Do Lago said.