Overview
- Delegates from roughly 190 nations convened as UN analyses project about 2.8–3.0°C of warming and the WMO reports record CO2 levels of 423.9 ppm with 2024 about 1.55°C above preindustrial.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz attended and reaffirmed goals, but Germany deferred a specific pledge to Brazil’s Tropical Forest Protection Fund, with KfW set to manage funding as domestic critics push a Bundestag debate on climate policy.
- The EU’s new 2040 target of a 90% emissions cut, including an option to offset up to 5% via international certificates, drew warnings that Europe’s ambition and credibility are slipping.
- The United States did not send a high-level delegation under President Donald Trump, reducing U.S. presence and influence at the talks.
- Finance tensions sharpened as the bloc of least developed countries sought $120 billion annually for adaptation by 2030, while Belém grappled with severe lodging shortages and price spikes, prompting church-organized low-cost beds.