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COP30
Brasil launches global call for a ‘mutirão’ against climate change
In a letter, Brasil’s COP30 Presidency urges parties, businesses, and communities to move beyond pledges and act collectively to accelerate implementation; COP30 should initiate a new decade of global action on climate change.
COP30 Newsroom
COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago issued a letter this Monday calling on the world to take collective and urgent action in a “mutirão” against climate change. The document stresses the need for international cooperation to accelerate implementation and deliver climate solutions, launching a new decade of global action to fight the climate crisis.
To keep the 1.5ºC target within reach, Brasil invites the international community for a “mutirão”, a Portuguese word derived from the indigenous Tupi-Guarani language that refers to a group coming together to work on a shared task. Only by recognizing the urgency of the situation and acting collectively against catastrophe and denialism can we “have the possibility of rewriting a different future”, emphasizes the document:
“Together, we can make COP30 the moment we turn the game around, when we put into practice our political achievements and our collective knowledge to change the course of the next decade”, said Corrêa do Lago in the document, which also highlights the need to uphold and strengthen the multilateral climate regime.
The call for action coincides with the confirmation that 2024 was the warmest year on record globally and the first calendar year that the average global temperature exceeded 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level. Therefore, COP30 should be a turning point in the global fight against climate change, coordinating efforts among governments, businesses, markets, small enterprises, scientists, academics, technological innovators, and others.
"Change is inevitable – either by choice or by catastrophe. If global warming is left unchecked, change will be imposed on us as it disrupts our societies, economies, and families," stresses the COP30 President. “Changing by choice gives us the chance for a future that is not dictated by climate tragedy, but rather by resilience and agency towards a vision we design ourselves.”
Climate levers
In Correa do Lago's assessment, significant collective progress has been achieved, but much work remains to be done to stay within the 1.5ºC target. With the rulebook for the Paris Agreement completed in 2024, this year’s UN Climate Conference should kickstart a new decade of inflection in the global climate fight to implement what has been agreed upon.
The ambassador argues it is necessary to pull all the levers to align our efforts with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement on temperature, resilience, and financial flows. He states that policymakers and political leaders should present new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) compatible with 1.5ºC, but also commit to international cooperation for strengthening capabilities and institutions in all countries.
“As we acknowledge we are all interdependent in the fight against climate change, we must recognize the international community is only as strong as its weakest link”, states the ambassador.
A critical aspect of COP30 will be addressing adaptation alongside mitigation. Among the key priorities of the conference are setting indicators for adaptation objectives, advancing the “Baku Adaptation Road Map”, and the Baku high-level dialogue on adaptation. The letter states, “if climate goals are to be achieved, both adaptation and mitigation financing will need to be increased manyfold.”
As part of this effort, Corrêa do Lago highlighted Brasil and Azerbaijan’s commitment to working together in the Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3 Trillion to scale up climate finance to developing nations. The President of COP30 also advocates that Multilateral Development Banks and International Financial Institutions “should evolve into bigger, better, and more effective entities that structurally support enhanced, ambitious climate action”.
Forests are key
The COP30 President argues that science is crucial for reassessing the role of forests and the communities that protect them. According to him, forests represent a significant opportunity and can help buy time in climate action with enhanced global support and investment through financial resources, technology transfer, and training. Realizing this potential requires a concerted global effort.
"If we reverse deforestation and restore what has been lost, we can activate massive removals of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere while reviving ecosystems. Healthier ecosystems can also provide opportunities for resilience and the bioeconomy, supporting local livelihoods, creating advanced value chains, and fostering innovation in biotechnology," the Ambassador stated.
English version: Trad. Bárbara Menezes
Editorial review and editing: Enrique Villamil