Brazil has issued an urgent call for all countries to come forward with strengthened national plans on the climate, in a last-ditch attempt to meet a key September deadline.
Only 28 countries have so far submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases – including China and the EU – still to produce their plans.
On Tuesday Brazil, which will host the crunch Cop30 UN climate summit this November, issued a summons to all governments to a key meeting on 25 September, on the sidelines of the UN annual general assembly in New York. The UN needs all national plans – known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) – by that date to compile a “synthesis report”, which will show how far off track the world is on the crucial goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels.
André Corrêa do Lago, the veteran Brazilian diplomat who will preside over Cop30, wrote to governments on Tuesday to urge them to submit ambitious NDCs, and warned that if they were not strong enough then further action would be needed at Cop30.
He wrote: “Far from representing mere climate targets for 2035, our NDCs represent the vision of our shared future. They are vehicles of cooperation, enabling us to realise this vision together. If the image shown by NDCs turns out disappointing, it is our collective responsibility to convert it into a picture that will ensure a livable planet, protect all economies, and improve living standards and life opportunities for all peoples, for all generations.”
Brazil has markedly stepped up its diplomatic efforts in the past week, as the prospects for Cop30 look increasingly difficult. Brazil’s president, Lula da Silva, held a one hour call with China’s Xi Jinping last week in which the climate was a key priority.
Do Lago said: “We are quite convinced that China will publish an ambitious NDC in time for the synthesis report. We are very confident that China is taking this exercise very seriously.”
The “presidency consultation” meeting called for 25 September is a new departure, as such meetings normally only take place during the final stages of Cops. It will be followed by another on 15 October, both aimed at preventing the gridlock that has afflicted recent UN climate meetings, at which negotiations have been unable to start on time because of disagreements over what should be on the agenda.
But the Cop30 presidency has been beset by problems amid a worsening geopolitical situation, reinforced by Donald Trump’s red-carpet treatment of Vladimir Putin last week in Alaska. Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris climate agreement, and Putin’s war in Ukraine has proved a bonanza for fossil fuel interests.
Brazil has also suffered obstacles of its own making, including the siting of the summit in Belém, a small city at the mouth of the Amazon River. Developing countries and civil society groups have grown increasingly anxious at the lack of hotels and other accommodation, and the high prices charged, and there are questions over whether Belém’s airport has the capacity and security needed for the scores of world leaders who have been invited.
Belém only has about 18,000 hotel rooms in normal times, while about 50,000 people are expected to attend Cop30. While Brazil’s government has commissioned two large cruise ships to moor at Belém for about 6,000 attenders, and set up a platform for Belém residents to rent out rooms and apartments, the cheapest rooms are about $400 a night for the fortnight of talks, with many hotel rooms priced at well over $1,000 a night. These are daunting sums for many of the most vulnerable countries, who can only afford to send a handful of delegates in contrast to the scores of officials sent by some of the biggest emitters. Civil society groups and media organisations have also warned they are being shut out of the event.
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Ana Toni, chief executive of Cop30, said: “Prices have started to come down and we expect that to continue.”
Brazil has also made key concessions to other countries over what will be on the agenda for Cop30. While NDCs are crucial to global climate action, they were not originally set to be the focus of the Cop30 agenda, as Brazil maintained they would be settled before the summit and therefore not subject to negotiation.
However, many countries made it clear that discussing the NDCs and their impacts would be central to fulfilling the Paris agreement. Do Lago said there would be opportunities for parties to discuss all key issues: “Some of the issues that the public in general expect more discussion on at Cop were not included in the agenda. So what we want to do is make sure we are dealing with these issues, that are considered important by stakeholders. There is a huge debate about trust in these negotiations, and I firmly believe that transparency is essential.”
