World leaders are heading to the Amazonian city of Belém this month for COP30, as Brazil aims to deliver the most consequential climate summit in years.

This year’s negotiations come at a difficult moment. Concerns around trade relations and national security are dominating the political landscape, whilst a resurgence of disinformation has also pushed climate to take a back seat. 

But every five years, the Paris Agreement compels nations to reveal their progress and ambition. Brazil’s COP30 Presidency is expected to launch a landmark plan to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for low-income countries, while negotiators refine how to measure adaptation goals and resilience. At the same time, a rising wave of anti-environment and anti-gender movements threatens to undermine global commitments.

With the world’s biggest emitters under scrutiny, the questions are urgent. What does real success look like in Belém? Can climate ambition survive amid political headwinds? And how can global diplomacy steer the transition toward a fairer, more resilient world?

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Ehsan Masood, Bureau Chief, Africa and Middle East, Nature 
• Helen Mountford, CEO, ClimateWorks Foundation 
• Sinead Walsh, Principal Research Fellow ODI Global 

Related resources

• ODI Global at COP30 (Resources hub, ODI Global)
• Country Platforms (Project, ODI Global)
• From Washington to Belém and beyond: a new era for climate finance (Expert comment, ODI Global)