CURRENT AFFAIRS: COP30 in Belém, Brazil

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Following a disappointing outcome, the EU needs to strengthen its climate leadership

In November 2025, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) took place in Belém, Brazil, in the heart of the Amazon. Given the expectations of environmental non-governmental organisations – ambition, climate justice, financing, planned phase-out of fossil fuels, forest protection – COP30 has proved disappointing (Final declaration). Despite the climate emergency and the strong symbolic nature of the location, the decisions taken fall short of what science and civil society deem necessary. NGOs call on the EU in particular to show renewed and credible leadership.

The first expectation of NGOs concerned climate ambition. While states reaffirmed their commitment to limiting warming to 1.5°C, COP30 failed to set out a clear pathway for achieving this. In particular, NGOs lament the lack of a global roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. While this decision was considered essential to keep the 1.5°C target within reach, the compromises adopted have proved to be too weak.

NGOs also expected COP30 to put practical implementation at the centre of the action. While the ‘Belém Package’ introduces some monitoring and transparency tools, it is still insufficient to ensure that international commitments yield tangible results. For civil society organisations, the protection of forests and ecosystems ought to have been subject to more binding commitments. The Amazon, the venue for this COP, symbolises this urgent need for clear measures to preserve biodiversity and strengthen ecosystem resilience. However, the final decisions taken remain too general and lack robust accountability mechanisms.

Regarding climate justice, the results are equally mixed. The progress made is too modest to support the most vulnerable countries. While announcements were made about the financing of adaptation, there is no precise plan or guarantee of resources. The ‘loss and damage’ mechanism remains underfunded and poorly structured. NGOs point out that local communities, indigenous peoples and frontline populations need to be better protected and fully involved in decision-making, something not sufficiently addressed in Belém.

Climate finance once again appears to be a major sticking point. Despite repeated calls, COP30 failed to secure a robust, predictable and long-term financial framework. NGOs now expect the European Union to take the lead: increased mobilisation of public funds, private sector involvement, debt relief and the creation of innovative mechanisms to support the energy transition and ecosystem restoration in vulnerable countries.

Finally, the conference did not sufficiently strengthen the essential link between climate and biodiversity. NGOs deplore the lack of a concrete action plan to protect primary forests and restore degraded ecosystems, which are inextricably linked to the fight against climate change.

For the European Union, COP30 reveals a worrying weakness: despite its economic and diplomatic weight, the EU failed to deliver the ambitious leadership that NGOs and several of the most vulnerable states had expected.

The challenge is to now learn the lessons from this failure and to rebuild a climate credibility that has been undermined in Belém. This means boosting ambition, accelerating a just transition in the EU, securing funding commensurate with needs and representing the biodiversity perspective in the negotiations in a more coherent way. After Belém, environmental NGOs expect the EU to fill the gaps left by the conference, strengthen its influence and finally provide the international momentum that was lacking at this COP.

Sandrine BÉLIER (France)
Member, EESC Civil Society Organisations' Group

Director, Association for Humanity and Biodiversity

© EU/EESC