COP29 Revisit

COP30 in Belém: What’s at Stake?

Today marks the opening of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, which nearly a decade since the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21.

To help frame what’s at stake, Mandala briefly revisits the key outcomes of COP29 in Baku:

1. COP29 set a new global climate finance goal of at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035, with developed countries expected to provide at least USD 300 billion annually (a deal that many major developing countries still criticise as underfunded and top-down).

2. A core framework for carbon trading was agreed under Articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, giving more clarity on how countries can trade carbon and on standards for eligible projects, audits, and accounting.

3. The adaptation and mitigation framework was expanded through the Global Goal on Adaptation package and a Mitigation Work Programme focused on city-level emissions cuts and a future digital platform, even though how these different tracks fit together remains unclear.

This year's COP30 is expected to build on the finance and carbon-market frameworks agreed at COP29, and to address the protection of forests and Indigenous peoples.

We look forward to the outcomes of COP30, and how they shape the next chapter of climate ambition and implementation.