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People People from all over the world have started gathering at its entrance Amazon and belem, brazilThe Conference of the Parties to the 30th annual United Nations climate summit, less formally known as COP30.
The aim is simple, but lofty: for countries to work together to prevent the worst effects of human-caused climate change.
Many experts say this goal is becoming out of reach. But the stakes are high. Climate change is already increasing disasters that mean life or death for billions of people around the world, and delaying action will only make the problem worse.
Here’s what you need to know about COP30.
There is a spotlight on indigenous people, forests and agriculture
With the world’s largest rainforest on its doorstep, many have praised Belém’s good location as a way to highlight the role of indigenous people and land management in addressing climate change.
Although many past COPs have focused primarily on transitioning to clean energy sources, research has shown that shifting food systems is also essential. Countries also need to stop destroying the ecosystems that absorb pollution and protect humans from disease.
The Brazilian government is leading a new initiative called the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a program designed to offer monetary rewards to nations for protecting forests. It remains to be seen whether world leaders will commit sufficient funds to make this project a success.
Getting there – and staying there – has been a challenge for many
Before the conference, many attendees were concerned about whether the city could host thousands of people. Delegates have booked rooms on cruise ships in port. Others are staying in “love motels” from time to time, and some activists said they may camp out.
The weather is expected to be extremely hot and humid, and as such the host country has already written to attendees to make the dress code a little more informal.
But some experts and locals say any discomfort is a much-needed reality check, especially for people coming from wealthy countries. The Brazilian government was adamant that the conference should take place in Belém to show what is at stake: poor communities are often more vulnerable to disasters worse than climate change.
A decade after the historic Paris Agreement, countries have lost their way
Ten years ago, countries reached a historic agreement in the first global agreement to fight climate change.
Since then, the planet’s annual temperature has already risen by about 0.46 degrees Celsius (0.83 degrees Fahrenheit), according to data from the European Climate Service, one of the largest 10-year temperature increases on record. CopernicusThe Paris Agreement called for limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the historical average, but many scientists now say it is unlikely that countries will stay below that limit.
But the world has made some progress. Renewable energy is now cheaper than polluting coal, oil and natural gas in most places. And if countries agree to do what they have said so far, they could slightly prevent a rise of more than a full degree Celsius. It may not seem like much, but every tenth of a degree matters when it comes to impact on catastrophic weather.
This year, countries had homework: to submit their updated national plans to fight climate change. The United States, one of the world’s biggest polluters, will not contribute because it is out of the Paris Agreement. And many experts have criticized other countries’ plans, saying they fall far short of what is needed.
No historic deal is expected. Does that mean it’s not a big deal?
Unlike the Paris Agreement, or even last year when negotiators were trying to get countries to agree on how much rich countries should pay poorer countries to adapt to climate change, this year’s talks are not expected to end with any ambitious new deal.
Instead, organizers and analysts have framed this year’s conference as an “implementation COP.”
“People who go to Belém ask the question, ‘What’s this going to compromise?’ Are asking the wrong questions,” said cristiana figueresFormer UN climate chief.
Sueli Vaz, who runs Brazil’s environment agency, said that for the talks to succeed, world leaders need to step up efforts and funding to tackle climate change and commit billions of dollars to efforts to stop deforestation and land degradation.
But Panama’s Environment Minister Juan Carlos Navarro told The Associated Press he had low expectations for the talks. He said such meetings have become “a jet-setting orgy of bureaucrats who travel around the world with a tremendous carbon footprint and accomplish nothing.”
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