UN climate summit: What is COP30 and why is it important?

What is COP30? What does COP30 mean?

COP30 is the 30th Conference of the Parties meeting. This is the UN’s annual climate change summit, hosting all the ‘parties’ (meaning the countries who are ‘party to’ – ie signed – the UN’s landmark treaty on tackling climate change in 1992). The newest attendee is the Holy See, which became a party in 2022.

When and where is COP30 being held?

COP30 is taking place over two weeks, hosted by Brazil. Instead of hosting in the capital or a big city, as is usual, the conference is taking place in Belém, the gateway to the Amazon River. This Amazon location is a symbolically important choice, and an important reminder to attendees of what is at stake for nature and the environment if progress isn't made.

Each year the COP presidency rotates between five regions, with this year being the turn of Latin America and the Caribbean. The president is André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, a veteran diplomat and climate negotiator.

Why is COP30 important? What themes are on the agenda?

COP30 comes at an incredibly important time for poor communities - particularly Indigenous peoples - on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Climate campaigners hope that this will finally be the year that countries come together to submit ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (national climate plans) that put the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement's temperature ceiling of 1.5 degrees of warming.

It is a packed agenda, featuring adaptation to a warming world, deforestation, carbon markets and climate finance.

It is a matter of fairness that high-income countries such as the UK – which became rich from polluting coal-, oil-, and gas-fuelled economic development – support poor countries financially, both to decarbonise and to adapt to a vastly more volatile climate.

Who will host COP31? 

Unfortunately, it is inevitable that there will be many issues left to negotiate, even after COP30 is over. These will fall to COP31, in the 'Western Europe and Others' region. Two countries are still in the running to host COP31: Australia and Turkey.