The Road to COP30: 5 insights on why Bélem must be different
Sunita Ramani
COP30 must be different. These 5 insights about Bélem explain why
In November 2025, the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) will take place in Brazil – specifically, in the city of Belém.
While every COP presents an opportunity to galvanise climate action by world leaders, policymakers, investors and businesses, COP30 is attracting more attention than most, including its predecessor COP29 which will take place later this year in Baku.
The reason appears to be two-fold: firstly, COP30 represents a critical milestone, marking the deadline for countries to submit new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which serve as high-level roadmaps for national climate action. Holding policymakers to account in the lead up to COP30 will be vital to ensure that the next round of NDCs are ambitious, resilient and aligned with the 1.5ºC goal.
And secondly – and perhaps most important of all – next year’s COP will be hosted in Brazil, bringing a unique social and environmental context to the proceedings. Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest – the world’s largest intact forest – which once inspired scientists to coin the term ‘biodiversity’, but may soon reach a tipping point which could trigger local, regional, or even biome-wide forest collapse.
As the capital of the state of Pará, Belém is the gateway to the Amazon River and part of the wider Amazon delta – or ‘Amazonia’. Hosting COP30 presents a rare opportunity to bring global attention to the challenges rapidly unfolding in this region, as well as its pivotal role in providing solutions to the climate crisis.
Greenhouse recently welcomed three Brazilian experts to our office, to share their knowledge and insights with a range of international climate organisations. Vanessa Gabriel Robinson, Hannah Balieiro and Mariana Guimarães are from the Amazon region and deeply connected with local communities in and around Belém, as respective directors of the grassroots organisations Kayeb, Instituto Mapinguari and Mandí.
They emphasised the need for COP30 attendees to connect and work closely with local organisations – particularly those reaching communities who are typically excluded and isolated from high-level negotiations, but who have critical knowledge and urgent demands to share.
Here are some of the key insights that they shared with us:
Amazonian communities are deeply knowledgeable and innovative
Hannah introduced Instituto Mapinguari by telling us about its namesake; the mythical ‘Mapinguari’ creatures believed to be forest-protectors, with a gaping mouth on their abdomens to eat those who try to harm the forest. This is one of many beliefs among Amazonian communities that show how deeply the protection of their environment is embedded in local cultures.
Hannah emphasised that traditional communities from the region (including quilombolas, riverside, and Indigenous communities) are resilient and are already adapting in many ways to the threats facing their homes. But the wide-ranging impacts of the climate crisis, as well as repeated oil extraction and dam-building projects, are causing severe harm both to the Amazonian ecosystem, and to the millions who depend on it for their livelihoods.
As Vanessa pointed out, many organisations – particularly those based in the Global North – speak on behalf of Amazonia without knowing the reality of its people. Only local communities, and experts who work directly with them, can understand the multiple perspectives and experiences, and highlight existing solutions to the international climate community.
…but their lives and practices are under threat
Hannah has worked closely with quilombolas – communities of descendants of African slaves who escaped forced labour and formed rural villages. These communities are traditionally reliant on family farming but have difficulty accessing the funds they need to produce at a rate that sustains their livelihoods.
They use rotational farming systems practiced by generations of quilombola communities, which unite production with conservation, giving the land time to rest and regenerate. But quilombos have long been fighting for their survival, and risk losing their lives and their ancestral practices in increasing violations of their land rights.
The struggle over land rights is also central to the documentary Amazônia: Heart of Mother Earth, which was screened during London Climate Action Week in June 2024. Featuring testimonies of five indigenous leaders from four different generations, including chief Raoni Metuktire of the Kayapo people, the film tells the unfinished story of the recognition and protection of Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon, and the continued efforts to demarcate these territories.
…and they are isolated and excluded from COPs
The Amazon remains one of the poorest regions of Brazil, and local communities have often been exploited by extractivist companies. Pará’s neighbouring state of Amapá is currently being threatened with the building of new dams, but Instituto Mapinguari has found that the views of fishermen communities are not being heard, and they are often not well-informed about the potential impacts of these projects. Research published in 2017 found that if Brazil continues to build dams at the current pace, it would push species in the Amazon river to extinction, and could expel all its traditional residents from two-thirds of Brazilian Amazonia.
Mariana’s organisation, Mandí, is leading the conversation with local communities to increase access to dialogues on a local, federal and national level. One recent achievement for Mandí has been establishing the Belém Municipal Climate Change Forum, which aims to create the city’s first ever climate policy.
The Brazilian experts were excited that a COP will be hosted in Amazonia but stressed the need to radically improve accessibility for local communities ahead of COP30.
Amazonia is more than its rainforest
“We are not born knowing we are Amazonian”, said Mariana, speaking on behalf of a population of over two million who live in urban Belém.
She pointed out that many of Belém’s citizens take little notice of the rivers that wind across the city, and how they connect to its sanitation problems. Over 16% of the city’s population struggle with water shortages, and many have limited access to bathing facilities or toilets. Mandí is tackling this by conducting expeditions along the rivers of Belém, using cartography as a means of discovering new urban rivers.
It was not until COP27 that water was referenced in a final agreement, and at COP28, the UAE and Brazil co-hosted a ministerial dialogue to address the interlinked food, water and climate crises. There is an opportunity to raise ambition on water security in the next round of NDCs, building on existing momentum to integrate water access and management throughout climate commitments.
COP30 is not the end
For Brazil, COP30 is a turning point, situated midway between its municipal elections in 2024 and the next presidential election in 2026. It is not only an opportunity to accelerate international action on climate, but also to raise national ambitions to tackle the climate emergency, as Brazilians decide who their future decision-makers will be.
As Vanessa summarised, “We don’t just want to be a host city”. If the international community is truly committed to a successful COP30, we must collaborate with local experts in Belém, to ensure that we amplify the critical demands of Amazonia before, during and after COP.
Enjoyed the article? Check out some of our other articles about COP:
And take a look at some of our case studies:
