Overview
- The two‑day gathering ahead of COP30 brings high‑level delegations from 143 countries to Belém to set a political tone for next week’s negotiations.
- Organizers plan to unveil the Tropical Forests Forever Fund, described as a permanent trust designed to mobilize private capital for conservation, with a leverage target of roughly four private dollars per public dollar.
- The leaders of the three largest emitters will not attend at head‑of‑state level, with the United States absent at senior rank, China represented by Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, and India’s leader not traveling.
- Brazil’s push on forest protection faces credibility questions because the government authorized Petrobras to explore for oil near the Amazon’s mouth.
- Belém is straining to host tens of thousands of visitors, while Indigenous groups and climate activists are staging visible protests as the Amazon’s forest loss—about 17% over 50 years—underscores the stakes.