Climate talks in Brazil have begun with the high-level COP30 general plenary and the attendance of more than 40 world leaders. The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30 summit, scheduled to take place from 10-21 November, is set against the backdrop of intensifying climate impacts, geopolitical fragmentation, and a widening gap between climate ambition and action. For Australia, a fellow southern hemisphere power with parallel environmental vulnerabilities and regional responsibilities, COP30 is not just Brazil’s chance to shine. It can also be an Australian moment. Brazil’s choice to host the talks in Belém, a gateway to the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest and a critical carbon sink, underscores the urgency. It places the preservation of tropical forests, vital to global climate stability, at the heart of the political agenda. Amid many strategies, Brazil will launch the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a fund aiming to raise over US$125 billion to reward countries that protect their forests.
The COP30 and COP31 summits must be a display of southern hemisphere stewardship | Lowy Institute
