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Leaders’ Summit in Belém Sets Stage for COP30 With Finance Push, Forest Fund and Fossil‑Fuel Clash

The pre‑COP gathering sharpened a finance‑first agenda that collides with disputes over fossil fuels.

Overview

  • Over two days, about 60 heads of state and officials met in a plenary plus three sessions on climate and nature, the energy transition, and a Paris Agreement review to set political direction for COP30.
  • UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called fossil‑fuel investment “myopic and self‑destructive,” urged an immediate, credible emissions‑cutting roadmap, and pressed wealthy nations to meet scaled‑up finance pledges.
  • Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched a Tropical Forests Fund intended to support roughly 70 rainforest countries and proposed channeling oil and gas revenues into clean energy domestically.
  • The United States sent no senior delegation and China was represented by Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, prompting public criticism from several leaders, including Colombia’s Gustavo Petro.
  • Formal negotiations open Nov. 10–21 with finance, implementation and the pace of a fossil‑fuel phaseout expected to dominate after Brazil’s oil exploration approvals drew scrutiny.