COP 30

Hits and Misses

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In this article, Arvind Kumar analyses the outcomes of COP30, highlighting both progress and persistent gaps in global climate action. He notes advances such as updated NDCs, new adaptation indicators, increased finance targets, the Belém Action Mechanism for just transition, and the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility. However, he stresses that climate finance remains fragmented, adaptation underfunded, and a global fossil fuel phase-out roadmap was not agreed upon. The author concludes that despite meaningful steps, COP30 falls short of what is needed to keep 1.5°C within reach.

With rising global temperatures and frequent extreme weather events, climate change remains a key challenge to address. Global greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing, while fast and deep emission reductions are needed to keep the goals of the Paris Agreement within reach. This is particularly true as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO 2025) found that 2024 was likely the first year on record that had a global mean temperature of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) above pre-industrial levels.

Against this backdrop, the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10-21, 2025. However, negotiations were extended by a day due to deep divisions among parties on critical issues like climate finance and the phasing out of fossil fuels. COP30, as it is called, was hosted in Belém, a city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, a crucial regulator of climate and home to many Indigenous peoples who are hit hard by climate change and are part of the solution. COP30 was convened under the shadow of both urgency and deepening scepticism.