Countries must see Brazil meet as crucial turning point: COP30 prez

Brazil's incoming COP30 presidency has urged countries to view the November climate summit as a crucial turning point for global action, invoking the football concept of "virada" — fighting back when defeat seems almost certain.

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI:

In a vision document presented on Monday, COP30 President-Designate Andre Aranha Correa do Lago outlined plans to revitalise climate efforts amid significant setbacks, including the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and disappointing finance commitments at last year's talks.

"Together, we can make COP30 the moment we turn the game around, when we put into practice our political achievements and our collective knowledge to change the course of the next decade," the document states.

The summit faces unprecedented challenges as it will be "the first to undeniably take place at the epicentre of the climate crisis", according to the Brazilian presidency. January 2025 marked the warmest month on record globally, continuing a trend after 2024 became the first calendar year with average global temperatures exceeding 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

February was the third-highest on record.