The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) began on 10 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, dubbed the 'COP of implementation and truth' as leaders demand action on climate finance commitments. Outgoing COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev presented donor nations with a symbolic invoice to enforce past pledges, including the $300-billion Baku Finance Goal. South Africa's delegation, led by Minister Dion George, pushes for accountability in adaptation and loss and damage funding.
COP30 kicked off on 10 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, marking the first full implementation cycle of the Paris Agreement. Leaders emphasized shifting from aspirational policies to concrete delivery, particularly on climate finance, labeling the event the 'COP of implementation' and 'COP of truth.' The opening ceremony featured addresses highlighting urgency amid ongoing crises like droughts, floods, and hurricanes affecting vulnerable regions.
Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 president from Azerbaijan, raised the stakes by presenting a symbolic invoice to donor countries for overdue climate finance. This included doubling adaptation finance by the end of 2025, tripling UN climate funds by 2030, and fulfilling the $300-billion annual pledge by 2035 under the Baku Finance Goal agreed at COP29. Babayev stressed, 'After such difficult negotiations, now there can be no excuses,' urging developed nations to lead without backtracking.
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell called for accelerating emissions reductions and resilience-building, noting renewables now outpace fossil fuels in investments. He advocated implementing the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap toward $1.3-trillion in annual climate finance by 2035. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described climate change as a present tragedy, calling for ambitious nationally determined contributions, technology transfer, and a just transition addressing inequalities.
André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, underscored multilateralism's role, drawing from Brazil's Rio 92 legacy. South Africa's Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dion George, leading the delegation, co-chairs adaptation negotiations. He stated, 'This is the time for the world to act,' prioritizing the $1.3-trillion goal, the Belém Work Programme for adaptation, and operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund. George warned, 'Adaptation is about building resilience... Without measurable results, there can be no credibility.'
Discussions also spotlight the Loss and Damage Fund, established at COP28 with $768-million pledged but only $321-million paid. South Africa's chief negotiator, Maesela Kekana, seeks agenda space for the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap, which outlines five action fronts (the 5Rs) for scaling finance. Experts like Kgaugelo Mkumbeni from the Institute for Security Studies caution that failure risks intensified human security threats, including food insecurity and displacement in developing nations.