The negotiations process under COP30 will start on November 10 in Belem, Brazil, and continue until November 21, 2025. This COP is also referred to as the ‘Action Agenda’ due to its objective of accelerating the implementation of climate actions in six key areas, as outlined in the Global Stocktake.
These six areas involve transitioning energy, industry and transport, stewarding forests, oceans and biodiversity, transforming food and agriculture systems, building resilience for cities, infrastructure and water, fostering human and social development and unleashing enablers and accelerators, including on finance, technology and capacity building.
The first key area talks about shifts to renewable and efficient energy in the transport and industrial sectors. It is very important because 80 per cent of global energy consumption is based on fossil fuels. This requires not only introducing renewable energy in the transport and industrial sectors but also introducing modern technologies to make it more efficient in the process of energy storage and transportation. In addition to that, it is equally significant to make access to renewable and efficient energy on the principles of equity, inclusion, and human development.
The second important area of COP30 is mitigating and adapting to climate change through sustainable actions to conserve and restore forests and protect our oceans and biodiversity. Forests are a primary natural source of carbon sinks and play an essential role in reducing carbon emissions. Fast actions, firm commitments and a desire to implement these commitments to protect global forest cover should be the focus of negotiations in COP30.
Similarly, healthy oceans and biodiversity are essential for a sustainable ecosystem and keeping a balance of life on our planet. However, climate change has altered and declined biodiversity by affecting terrestrial lands, freshwater, and marine ecosystems around the world. Ecosystems and biodiversity are natural solutions to climate change, acting as carbon sinks. According to the UN, “the ocean has absorbed about 90 per cent of the heat generated by rising emissions. At a 1.1 C increase in temperature today, an estimated 60 per cent of the world's marine ecosystems have already been degraded or are being used unsustainably.” So safeguarding marine life and the ocean ecosystem is essential and requires the attention of global leaders during COP30.
Transforming food and agriculture is another area that can mitigate and adapt to climate change. It requires the use of smart technologies, better water management, efficient food storage & transportation strategies and less reliance on fossil fuels for the agriculture sector. Building resilience for cities, infrastructure and water is also crucial for fighting climate change in urban settings. It involves creating green spaces with vertical and roof gardening ideas for buildings in urban planning, using climate resilient infrastructure to emit less carbon emissions and absorb climate shocks and building efficient, effective drainage systems to counter urban flooding.
Fostering human and social development is another important area that involves creating knowledge, introducing new research, capacity building and preparing experts in the field of climate change with special attention to developing and underdeveloped countries.
Another important aspect that needs to be addressed under this theme for social development is the implementation of gender- and youth-inclusive policies and actions to mitigate the impact of climate-led disasters. The voices of females and youth are crucial to be given due consideration during COP30 to achieve formidable outcomes. It also involves protecting the interests of indigenous communities to develop an inclusive approach.
To successfully achieve targets in all five thematic areas, the last theme, ‘Unleashing enablers and accelerators, including on finance, technology and capacity building’, is very important. It talks about rich nations that are responsible for climate change due to their unchecked development process and unlimited greed to gain economic power and creating a threat to developing and underdeveloped nations.
This COP will push this rich nation to transfer technology and support in the capacity building of these nations that are suffering due to their development process. It will help them strengthen themselves to play their part in mitigation and adaptation efforts. This area further demands that the Global North support the Global South financially to compensate them for the losses caused by climate-led disasters and take action to address this worldwide challenge.
COP30 will negotiate key areas to accelerate the climate agenda. However, substantive outcomes depend on the seriousness of rich nations in making the climate agenda their top priority and executing their revised submitted National Determined Contributions (NDCs). Otherwise, this COP will also serve as a platform to make big promises with little will to take action and fulfil these promises.
A positive aspect of every COP is to generate debates, attract global attention and make big headlines in the media industry of every country.
The writer is a graduate of the University of Oxford in Public Policy. She tweets/posts @zilehumma_1 and can be reached at: [email protected]
