"COP30 will be key to redefining the future of the planet," says Marina Silva in India

In her final speech in New Delhi, the Minister highlighted priority agendas for the conference and unveiled the Global Ethical Balance (GEB).

From the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change

On February 6 in New Delhi, India, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, stressed that COP30, the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Belém in November, will play a crucial role in global climate action in the coming years. "COP30 will be crucial in redefining the future of the planet and setting a solid benchmark that is equal to the climate challenge, ten years after the Paris Agreement," she said during a panel discussion at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

The minister stated that COP30 should accelerate the implementation of the commitments made in the ten years since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015. In particular, she highlighted the decisions taken at COP28 in the United Arab Emirates and COP29 in Azerbaijan. "We need to make progress on transitioning away from fossil fuels and ending deforestation while scaling up climate finance from the USD 300 billion pledged by developed countries to USD 1.3 trillion per year. This roadmap will be crucial for the post-Belém period," she said.

Minister Silva described the agendas of adaptation and just transition to a low-carbon economy, official negotiating items of the climate COPs, as priorities for the conference. "The climate emergency also requires a greater emphasis on adaptation, which is directly linked to protecting lives and reducing vulnerability at the local level. We must ensure that the most affected communities have access to resources and technologies to cope with the effects of the climate crisis," she said. "Brasil is committed to a model of transition that leaves no one behind and guarantees economic and sustainable alternatives and means of implementation that support, above all, the most vulnerable populations and ecosystems."

To facilitate the transition to ending the use of fossil fuels, innovative financial instruments are necessary, according to the minister, such as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF). Launched in 2023 at COP28 and developed by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima/MMA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE), and the Ministry of Finance (Ministério da Fazenda/MF) over the past year, the TFFF is expected to be operational by COP30. Its goal is to increase financial flows for conservation and payment for ecosystem services.

Silva also stressed the importance of strengthening the multilateral regime to tackle climate change and the effects that are already being felt in Brasil and worldwide. "As host of COP30, Brasil reaffirms that climate responsibility is collective and that only through our domestic efforts, multilateralism, and international cooperation will we be able to turn commitments into concrete actions," she said.

She also defended the Global Ethical Balance (GEB), an initiative led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Throughout the year, the BEG will promote dialogues in different regions of the world, including hotspots such as the Arctic, and bring together young people, women, scientists, religious leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, indigenous peoples, local communities, and activists to mobilize around the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting the average global temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

Also on the panel were Nepal's Minister of Forestry and Environment, Aain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri; Maldives' Minister of Tourism and Environment, Muaviyath Mohamed; Norway's Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (remote); UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair Jim Skea; and Germany's State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Jennifer Morgan (virtual).

Bilateral agenda

On February 6, in parallel with the WSSD, Marina Silva met with Minister Aain Bahadur Shahi Thakuri of Nepal, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and affected by increasingly intense and frequent extreme weather events, such as floods and landslides, which damage infrastructure, the economy, and the lives of local communities. They discussed Nepal's expectations for COP30, with a focus on the adaptation agenda, which is critical to building climate resilience in the country.

Minister Silva also met with Jim Skea of the IPCC. The conversation focused on the work of the Panel, which produces assessment cycles based on the best available science on climate change, and the recent global temperature records that make it difficult to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.

On February 5, Marina Silva engaged in bilateral meetings with Muaviyath Mohamed, the Minister of Tourism and Environment of the Maldives, and Bhupender Yadav, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India. Brazil's Ambassador to India, Kenneth da Nóbrega, was also present during these discussions. During her visit to New Delhi, Minister Silva was honored with the Leadership Award for Sustainable Development. This award, established in 2005 by the Indian organization The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), recognizes global leaders who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing sustainability and climate action.

English version: Translated by Bárbara Menezes

Editorial review and editing: Enrique Villamil