COP30 Summit Opens in Brazil’s Amazon Without U.S. Leadership/ Newslook/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The COP30 climate summit opened in Belém, Brazil, spotlighting the Amazon rainforest’s role in global climate stability. Despite the urgency, key emitters like the U.S. and China are not sending top leaders, raising concerns about global climate cooperation. Brazil’s President Lula is pushing for strong action, including a new forest preservation fund.
COP30 Amazon Brazil Quick Looks
- COP30 is underway in Belém, Brazil, surrounded by the rapidly deforested Amazon rainforest.
- Roughly 17 percent of the forest’s original cover has been lost over five decades.
- The conference is branded the “Implementation COP,” aiming for action over pledges.
- President Trump has not sent senior U.S. officials, while China is represented by a deputy.
- Brazil is launching the Tropical Forests Forever Fund, focused on long-term forest preservation.
- Lula is positioning Brazil as a global climate leader despite recent oil exploration approvals.
- Belém faces major logistical challenges, including lodging shortages for thousands of attendees.
- Protesters and civil society groups are active, in contrast to past summits in restrictive countries.
- Indigenous leaders, environmental activists, and youth groups are demanding Amazon protections.
- The U.S. absence raises concerns about leadership on climate financing and global emissions goals.
Deep Look: COP30 Opens in Brazil’s Amazon Without Key Global Players
BELÉM, Brazil — The 30th United Nations Climate Conference, known as COP30, has officially opened in Belém, Brazil, a city perched at the edge of the Amazon rainforest. The event, hosted in the heart of the world’s largest tropical rainforest, underscores the environmental urgency of protecting ecosystems vital to climate stability.
From the air, world leaders arriving can see the contrast between lush green expanses and barren deforested plains. About 17 percent of the Amazon’s forest cover has been destroyed in the last 50 years, primarily for agriculture, logging, and mining.
The stakes are clear. Often referred to as the “lungs of the planet,” the Amazon is a major carbon sink. But that role is diminishing due to increasing deforestation, wildfires, and industrial expansion.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is using the summit to promote Brazil’s climate agenda, including the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund. The proposed trust fund aims to channel money from the private sector and international donors to nations that commit to long-term rainforest protection.
Yet the conference is facing significant diplomatic challenges.
Absence of Major Polluters
The leaders of the world’s three biggest polluters — the United States, China, and India — are not attending the summit at the highest levels. President Donald Trump, who withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, has not sent any senior officials. China is represented by its deputy prime minister.
This absence has raised concern among environmental advocates and diplomats. The U.S. has historically played a pivotal role in encouraging emission reductions and negotiating global climate financing for developing nations.
The lack of participation is being felt across the summit.
“It pushes governments further toward denial and deregulation,” said Nadino Kalapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Indigenous group in Ecuador. “That trickles down to Ecuador, Peru, Argentina — where environmental protection is already under pressure.”
Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a political ally of Trump, has called climate change a “socialist hoax” and pulled the country’s negotiators from previous talks.
Brazil’s Dilemma: Climate Leader or Oil Producer?
President Lula has received global praise for reducing deforestation in the Amazon since taking office. His administration is trying to set a new tone for climate diplomacy after recent COPs were dominated by oil-rich host nations such as the UAE and Azerbaijan.
Lula’s proposed Tropical Forests Forever Fund seeks to offer a permanent mechanism to support over 70 rainforest nations. The goal is to match every $1 in government funding with $4 from the private sector.
However, contradictions remain. Lula has also authorized the state oil company Petrobras to explore offshore oil fields near the Amazon’s mouth — a move sharply criticized by environmentalists.
“I never claimed to be an environmental leader,” Lula said on Tuesday in response to criticism. “I don’t want to be one.”
Logistical Struggles in Belém
Belém, a city of about 1.3 million, is experiencing major infrastructure strain. Before preparations began, it had only 18,000 hotel beds. As the summit draws thousands of delegates, journalists, and climate activists, accommodations are being supplemented with military barracks, school buildings, and even docked cruise ships.
Some attendees are sleeping in repurposed facilities like animal boarding homes or paying to sleep in hammocks. Others have turned to Belem’s hourly-rate motels, now charging premium rates to climate officials and civil society participants.
Despite the challenges, locals see the summit as an opportunity.
“I’m very proud that the world is looking at us,” said Eugênia Lima, who converted her cat hotel into a human hostel for the duration of COP30.
Protest Returns to the Climate Stage
One of the key differences this year is that Brazil allows public protest — a marked contrast from previous summits hosted in more authoritarian states. In recent years, the COP meetings in Egypt, the UAE, and Azerbaijan severely limited protest activity.
In Belém, Indigenous leaders, environmental campaigners, and youth activists have already begun large-scale demonstrations, including a river flotilla that arrived with protest banners and painted sails.
“Being able to protest and dialogue is a great thing about this COP,” said Laurent Durieux, a climate researcher who traveled from Santarem by boat. “Brazil has a long history of social struggle, and that is part of this event.”
The summit’s location — on the frontlines of climate degradation — makes the calls for action more urgent. With a lack of clear leadership from the world’s top emitters, the pressure falls on other nations to ensure that pledges become policies.
Whether this year’s COP truly becomes the “Implementation COP” remains to be seen. But the Amazon is watching — and the world is, too.
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