Stay Up to Date with All the Latest from COP30
NUS Consulting Group’s sustainability team will continue monitoring developments in Belém, Brazil and provide insight into how global outcomes may shape corporate sustainability strategies in 2026 and beyond.
A Historic and Unique Event
COP30 (Conference of the Parties) marks the 30th meeting under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, following last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Officially underway since Monday, November 10, and continuing through November 21, COP30 represents a pivotal moment to translate past commitments into concrete action.
This year’s COP30 location in the Amazon is both historic and symbolic. Often called the “lungs of the Earth,” the region represents what is truly at stake for both Brazil and the planet. Hosting the conference in Belém places the Amazon’s environmental challenges at the center of global negotiations and underscores its critical role in climate solutions.
Important themes:
- Inclusion and equity: Holding the conference in the Amazon provides a unique opportunity for Indigenous peoples and traditional communities to engage directly in negotiations from within their own territory.
- Nature and biodiversity: Taking place near the Amazon rainforest, COP30 brings a renewed focus on halting deforestation and preserving critical ecosystems.
- Implementation and accountability: Moving from pledges to measurable action, tracking progress on 2030 and 2035 targets.
- Finance and solidarity: Building trust between developed and developing nations through predictable, fair climate funding.
- Science and urgency: Reinforcing the scientific consensus that time is running short to keep 1.5 °C within reach.
Key Decarbonisation Goals
A decade after the Paris Agreement, where nations pledged to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C, the world gathers again to assess progress and accelerate ambition. Under the Agreement, each participating country must submit a national climate plan every five years, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). With ten years passed, the next round of NDCs is due this year.
In Belém, Parties are assessing the gap between current plans and what is needed to meet the Paris goals, and what it will take to close that gap. Many nations have already submitted or updated their NDCs ahead of the conference. Among the most notable are the commitments from Brazil, the European Union, and China, which together represent major economies and significant shares of global emissions.
Commitments of Significant Emitters
- Brazil has committed to reduce net greenhouse-gas emissions by 59% to 67% by 2035 compared with 2005 levels. Its updated plan is paired with a national goal to reach zero deforestation by 2030, a central priority for the Amazon.
- European Union has submitted its updated NDC, targeting a 66.25 % to 72.5 % emissions reduction by 2035 from 1990 levels.
- China has pledged to reduce economy-wide net greenhouse-gas emissions by 7 % to 10 % from peak levels by 2035, increase non-fossil energy to 30 % of total consumption, and expand wind and solar capacity to more than 3.6 TW by that date.
While global policies and commitments have lowered projected warming compared with a decade ago, current NDCs still imply roughly 2.3–2.5 °C of warming by 2100, therefore, progress remains insufficient. COP30 subsequently calls for a swifter transition to renewable energy, greater use of natural climate solutions, and stronger financial support for countries most affected by climate impacts.
The conference also emphasizes inclusivity and equity in climate policy, recognizing that leadership from Indigenous peoples and local communities is essential to protecting both cultural and biological diversity and mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions.