From Baku to Belém Why COP30 Must Be Different

As Rio approached its hottest day in a decade, climate activists from around the globe gathered together in February to hammer out Climate Action Network's new five-year strategy and a roadmap toward COP30 in Belém this November.

- 

The packed room buzzed with anticipation as Brazil's COP30 presidency made their first official appearance, represented by newly appointed COP President, Ambassador André Aranha Corrka do Lago, alongside Ana Toni, Executive Director of COP30, and Brazil's Lead Negotiator, Liliam Beatris Chagas de Moura.

Tasneem Essop, Executive Director of CAN International, warmly introduced Ambassador do Lago, who humorously broke the ice, referencing his towering height - at a full two meters, the tallest COP president ever.

Humour quickly opened into candid realism as Ambassador do Lago laid out the sobering context facing COP30: unprecedented geopolitical tensions and deepening global polarization. With passionate urgency, he emphasized that COP30 cannot afford to become just another diplomatic talking shop - it must be genuinely transformative.

When seasoned diplomats like Ambassador do Lago openly call for a COP shakeup, it signals climate negotiations are at a crucial turning point. He said COP30 in Belém cannot be business as usual – it has to be a really different COP. Not merely because it's a decade since Paris, but because diplomacy is struggling to keep pace with rapid global change. More and more countries, sectors, and corporations are stepping back from the fight against climate change despite the overwhelming evidence that it is affecting everyone's lives - even more so the poorest communities whose people are the least responsible for climate change. Never before has the gap between the reality and commitments been so huge.