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COP30 Opens in Brazil With Push for Unity and a Forest-Finance Pivot

Brazil is steering fractious talks toward a fossil-fuel transition plan with rainforest finance at the center.

Overview

  • UN climate chief Simon Stiell opened proceedings urging cooperation and warning that overshooting 1.5C now looks likely without much faster emissions cuts.
  • Brazil brokered agreement on the agenda, deflecting pushes to add disputes over finance and trade measures as delegates home in on a fossil‑fuel transition roadmap, adaptation and carbon‑market rules.
  • Brazil launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility to raise an initial $25 billion for rainforest protection and leverage long‑term payouts, with Norway pledging $3 billion over 10 years, China signaling participation and several EU states backing, though the UK held back.
  • The United States is effectively absent as President Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreement, a gap other delegations say is testing multilateral climate cooperation.
  • A new UN assessment finds current pledges would cut emissions about 12% by 2035 from 2019 levels versus roughly 60% required, with many countries yet to file updated 2025–2035 plans.