Climate talks have rarely been so urgent or so bleak, but there are still glimmers of hope

As leaders gather for the Cop30 conference in Brazil, the world faces record rises in temperature. Yet some progress has been made on renewables, writes climate editor Jeevan Vasagar

- Jeevan Vasagar

World leaders have gathered in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the Cop30 climate summit in a city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest.

Why it matters

As the planet's temperature rises and the political climate chills, the UN negotiations have rarely been so urgent or so bleak. Omens include the leader of the world's biggest oil producer - the US - describing climate change as the "greatest con job" ever perpetrated on the world; hurricanes amplified by climate change that are carving a trail of destruction around the world, from the Caribbean to southeast Asia; and an oil discovery in Guyana making the South American country the world's fastest growing economy, underlining the wealth that remains to be made from fossil fuels.

Shifting priorities

The issue is not just Donald Trump, who has consistently been a climate crisis sceptic. Four years ago in Glasgow, Mark Carney rallied private capital to speed the transition to renewable energy. As prime minister of Canada, his first act was to scrap a carbon tax.

Et tu, Bill?