Brazil chooses one of its poorest regions for UN climate talks, here's why
The upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November is set to be unlike any other. For the first time, world leaders, scientists, activists, and business executives will gather in Belem, Brazil, a city located on the edge of the Amazon rainforest and grappling with poverty and environmental challenges.
Unlike past host cities such as Paris, Dubai, or Bali—known for their luxury and tourist appeal—Belem was deliberately chosen to highlight climate vulnerability, deforestation, and socioeconomic inequalities. Organisers hope the unique venue will focus global attention not just on emissions targets but also on creating climate solutions that benefit developing nations and frontline communities.
Why Belem was chosen for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30)
COP30 President-Designate Andre Corrêa do Lago emphasised that choosing Belem is a symbolic decision.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva believes climate negotiations must confront real-world challenges head-on, rather than being discussed in insulated luxury settings.
'You are going to see a developing city, with infrastructure challenges and high poverty rates, set against one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth,' do Lago said. The Amazon rainforest, often referred to as the 'lungs of the planet,' is central to discussions on climate change mitigation and biodiversity preservation.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Libas Purple Days Sale
Libas
Undo
By hosting COP30 in Belem, Brazil aims to directly link climate policies with poverty reduction and forest conservation.
How Belem's location reflects the urgency and challenges of COP30
Location and infrastructure challenges
– COP30 will be held in Belem, Brazil, which is already struggling with infrastructure and accommodation. The city's high hotel prices, lack of enough rooms, and the use of cruise ships to host delegates highlight how climate negotiations intersect with real-world social and economic issues.
Key focus on climate action
– COP30 is an important milestone for the Paris Agreement, where countries must update their climate action plans (NDCs) to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The event emphasises urgent global cooperation to limit warming to 1.5°C.
Symbolism of Belem
– Choosing Belem, a city near the Amazon rainforest and marked by poverty, symbolises the need to connect climate action with social justice, deforestation control, and sustainable development.
COP30 pushes for $1.3 trillion climate finance to support vulnerable nations
Another key priority is climate finance. The $1.3 trillion annual funding roadmap is under discussion to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate impacts and shift to clean energy as reported by Associated Press (AP). Developing countries argue that they contribute the least to global emissions yet suffer the most from floods, droughts, and rising sea levels. COP30 aims to strengthen commitments for equitable financial support, ensuring no country is left behind in the climate transition.
Amazon protection and nature-based solutions take center stage at COP30
The Amazon rainforest, spanning multiple countries but largely within Brazil, is a critical carbon sink. Its deforestation, however, has reached alarming levels, at times turning parts of the Amazon into net carbon emitters. COP30 will prioritize:
Halting illegal deforestation
Restoring degraded ecosystems
Incentivizing sustainable land use practices
Strengthening indigenous land rights
This focus aligns with the growing recognition that nature-based solutions are essential to achieving climate targets.
Adding momentum, the United Nations' top court recently declared that access to a clean and healthy environment is a basic human right.
This ruling strengthens arguments that states have a legal duty to reduce emissions and protect ecosystems. According to court President Yuji Iwasawa: 'Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system may constitute an internationally wrongful act.'
This legal shift could influence COP30 negotiations, pushing countries toward stronger and enforceable climate commitments.
Vision for COP30
: A 'Summit of Solutions'
Do Lago envisions COP30 as a turning point:
'We hope to be remembered as the COP of solutions, where people realized climate action creates opportunities and growth rather than sacrifice.'
By holding the summit in Belem—where poverty, deforestation, and climate risk intersect—organizers aim to keep discussions grounded and outcomes impactful. The success of COP30 will depend not only on emissions pledges but also on innovative solutions, equitable financing, and a shared vision for a sustainable global future.
Also Read |
Rare flesh-eating bacteria kills 4 in Florida: Here's what you need to know about Vibrio vulnificus
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
5 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Aligning growth with climate action
As the dust settles on the Bonn climate talks, discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) have gained momentum, but key questions remain unresolved. With the global 2025 climate milestone (setting updated climate targets and a new finance goal) and COP30 in Brazil on the horizon, the spotlight is on enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and advancing the GGA. Beyond fulfilling climate obligations, these frameworks will help India carve the path to a resilient, economically thriving the fastest-growing major economy, India faces the dual challenge of development and climate change. From erratic monsoons and heatwaves to rainfall events and sea level rise, climate risks are intensifying, threatening lives and livelihoods, as the country works to meet the needs of a growing population and rapidly urbanising regions. The path ahead, therefore, requires climate action and development to be pursued together as a cohesive national strategy..A recent OECD-UNDP report, Investing in Climate for Growth and Development, suggests that bold climate action is a powerful driver of economic transformation. It estimates the global GDP to be 0.2% higher by 2040 and up to 13% higher by 2100 under a high-ambition scenario, incorporating enhanced climate action and accelerated investments aligned with the Paris Agreement's 'well-below 2°C' India, green growth is both an environmental imperative and smart economics. It enhances energy security, supports rural livelihoods, and builds resilience of vulnerable communities. Aligning economic strategy with sustainability is key to accelerating development while navigating resource constraints and climate in renewables, clean mobility, and energy efficiency reduce emissions and boost innovation, jobs, and long-term India is drafting National Adaptation Plans for key sectors, its adaptation response remains nationally underfunded and fragmented, with international support proving slow, inconsistent, and insufficient. The promise of the GGA lies in its ability to support implementation through funding, capacity-building, and technology must continue advocating for a GGA architecture rooted in urgency and equity, moving beyond top-down metrics. The real test lies in who benefits and to what extent: Are vulnerable communities protected? Are climate-resilient practices reaching tribal populations and women farmers? Are urban systems flood-proofed?.India should also push for frameworks such as the New Collective Quantified Goal (a global target to mobilise climate finance for developing countries) and the Baku to Belem Roadmap (guiding global action on the Paris Agreement's Adaptation Goal) to serve not as checklists but as frameworks guiding countries to translate global ambition into local India prepares its 2025 NDC update, it has a strategic opportunity to set bold decarbonisation targets aligned with its low-carbon development goals and net-zero vision. Ambitious, implementable, and investable enhanced NDCs can become powerful instruments to drive inclusive requires integrating climate goals into sectoral and sub-national policies. Since key levers of adaptation and mitigation, including transport, agriculture, water, and land management, are a state's prerogative, states can become co-architects of national climate the is central to India's net-zero journey, with over $10 trillion needed by 2070. While global adaptation finance remains limited, India must champion predictable, accessible, and need-based funding; scale up domestic instruments like Sovereign Green Bonds and Infrastructure Investment Trusts; enhance state-level climate budgeting; and de-risk private India shifts to a low-carbon economy, labour transitions will be key. Sectors like coal, construction, and transport, often employing informal workers, will need targeted support. With the right planning, green transitions can create quality jobs. India's renewable sector, for example, employed over 1.02 million people in 2023. Ensuring a just transition means investing in reskilling, social protection, and community-led development. Equally important is investing in Nature-based Solutions (NbS), which can support both climate resilience and green jobs. Global estimates indicate a requirement of over $484 billion/year by 2030 for NbS, yet current finance flows fall short, highlighting a critical investment blend of scale, credibility, and developmental urgency positions it to lead efforts for an inclusive global climate framework. An inclusive, investment-ready NDC in 2025 can help India set global standards in emission reduction and climate the GGA negotiations, India must continue to frame adaptation as a survival imperative, not a donor-driven priority. COP30 marks a pivotal opportunity for India to position climate action as both a shield against risks and a catalyst for ensuring long-term economic vitality..(The writer heads the Climate, Environment and Sustainability sector at the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy – CSTEP).Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.
Time of India
23 minutes ago
- Time of India
SC proposes panel to manage Banke Bihari temple till HC decides on UP ordinance
. New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday proposed an interim committee, headed by a retired high court judge and comprising the district collector and Goswamis (pujaris), for management of Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan till Allahabad HC decides the validity of UP govt's ordinance for all-round development of the temple area to provide facilities to pilgrims. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked additional solicitor general K M Nataraj to seek state govt's response by Tuesday morning, when it will take up a batch of petitions that have questioned the manner in which state govt, prompted by an SC order, had come out with a temple development project proposed to be implemented at a cost of Rs 500 crore. The Goswamis, through senior advocate Shyam Divan, said taking over of the temple through an ordinance was extraordinary as the issue was not before constitutional courts, which were only dealing with alleged mismanagement of Guriraj temple. In the guise of better management of temples in the 'Braj area', the SC passed an order without even hearing temple Goswamis, which prompted the state to issue the ordinance, they said. The bench agreed that such an order without hearing the Goswamis could not have been passed. However, the Justice Kant-led bench said, "It is only for development of the temple and its surroundings. The state's intention does not appear to siphon out temple funds but to spend it on providing facilities to pilgrims." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Andrea Bergs Auto schockiert die ganze Welt, Beweis in Fotos! Weight Loss Groove Undo Divan said Banke Bihari temple was a private temple and any law brought about by govt or any order passed by courts could not have been without hearing the Goswamis, who have been managing it for centuries. The bench saw a point in Divan's argument and said, "The state cannot be seen coming to the court in a clandestine manner and getting an order set aside in a case which had nothing to do with Banke Bihari temple. We will set aside that part of the order, set up an interim committee to manage the temple and permit the HC to decide the legality of the ordinance." However, the bench was in favour of development around the temple to provide space for parking and places to stay for pilgrims with all facilities. "Religious tourism is assuming great importance. It can also be a big revenue earner and help in job creation. But there has to be adequate facilities to handle pilgrims," it said. The interim committee may also have to induct representatives of Archaeological Survey of India as well as independent architects proficient in ancient building restoration to protect the temple, the bench said.
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
Who has legal custody of hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees? Judge mounts heat on officials to produce immigration agreements
A federal judge on Monday (August 4, 2025) ordered federal and state officials in Florida to produce agreements showing which government agency or private contractor has legal authority to detain people or perform immigration officer roles at 'Alligator Alcatraz,' the immigration detention facility in the Everglades. Giving a deadline to officials, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz, an appointee of President Donald Trump, said that they must provide by Thursday (August 7, 2025) all written agreements and contracts showing who has legal custody of the hundreds of detainees at the facility that was hastily constructed more than a month ago on an isolated airstrip in South Florida's Everglades wilderness. Productivity Tool Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide By Metla Sudha Sekhar View Program Finance Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By Dinesh Nagpal View Program Finance Financial Literacy i e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By CA Rahul Gupta View Program Digital Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By Neil Patel View Program Finance Technical Analysis Demystified- A Complete Guide to Trading By Kunal Patel View Program Productivity Tool Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By Study at home View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program 'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees' 'rights being violated' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo The order from the federal judge came as part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against the state and federal governments by immigration attorneys. According to them, the constitutional rights of detainees are being violated since they are barred from meeting lawyers, are being held without any charges, and a federal immigration court has canceled bond hearings, news agency AP reported. Who has authority over the detention center has been a murky issue since it opened at the beginning of July 2025. The federal government and Florida had asked that any disclosures be limited to agreements between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and three Florida agencies: the Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida National Guard, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Live Events The detainees' attorneys had requested documents showing who was responsible for removal proceedings, as well as information on the number of employees at 'Alligator Alcatraz,' but Ruiz said those requests from the detainees' lawyers were too broad. The lawsuit is the second to challenge 'Alligator Alcatraz.' Environmental groups have sued federal and state officials, asking that the project be halted because the process didn't follow state and federal environmental laws. A hearing on that lawsuit is set for Wednesday (August 6, 2025).
