What Is COP30 And Why Does It Matter? Here's What You Need To Know

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking at COP30 amid widespread fears over global warming.Countries from around the world have sent delegates to the Amazonian city of Belem, in Brazil, this week to attend COP30.The international conference is meant to discuss means to come up with shared solutions to stop the climate crisis.Here’s what you need to know about the pivotal meeting.What is COP30?COP30 stands for the 30th “conference of the parties” where different countries around the globe come together to discuss how to “avoid dangerous climate change”.The meeting is part of a treaty which was signed in 1992 in Brazil under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).The gathering is held in a different place around the world each year.It’s intended to make sure rich countries responsible for most of the planet-warming emissions bear a greater responsibility when it come to the huge task of addressing climate change.And, while it might seem contradictory asking thousands of people to fly around the globe to discuss saving the planet, COP is also meant to give indigenous people a platform.What does COP do?Previous COPs have triggered major changes in the way the climate crisis is tackled.At the 2015 meeting in Paris, countries around the world agreed to try and limit global warming to 1.5C compared to pre-industrial era temperatures.All countries were required to come up with a national plan on greenhouse gas emissions – called nationally determined contributions – which must be revisited every five years.This year’s agenda was also so packed, the hosts decided to start early with an event called the Belem Climate Summit.World leaders were invited to the two-day event on Thursday 6 and Friday 7 November in Belem to encourage their negotiators to take bold action on their behalf.Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is hosting COP30 this year. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Prince William, attended last week.What are the main issues being discussed at COP30?Getting countries to commit to actually cutting greenhouse gases and keep world temperatures within the 1.5C target will be on the agenda for the two-week conference this year.But COP30 is also the first one to acknowledge the world has failed in meeting its 1.5C target – so conversations may be even more frank than usual about the scale of the challenge facing the world this year.Scientists have already warned that global average temperatures over two consecutive years have surpassed that target.This does not mean the Paris goal is now void, because it measures temperatures over a longer period, but it still raises questions over just how seriously countries are taking this target.Finance will also be up for debate amid ongoing questions over climate reparations – meaning how much money wealthy countries should give to the poor, who are more affected by extreme changes in temperature.Countries will be looking at how to transition away from fossil fuels too, a topic which has come up in many previous conferences but rarely makes significant headway with some governments reluctant to steer away from the lucrative sector.Meanwhile, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is hoping at this conference he will be able to secure funds for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility which helps preserve existing forests.By hosting the conference in the middle of the rainforest in Belem, Lula wants to encourage countries to donate to the fund.However, it’s already causing some controversy, with both the US and the UK refusing to give any cash.Will COP30 be successful in achieving climate action?It’s hard to know, as many previous conferences have ended up in deadlock over their final statements resulting in little to no real action.US president Donald Trump is also not attending, even though the US is the world’s second biggest emitter of CO2 after China.Chinese president XI Jinping will also not be attending COP30 though he has sent his vice premier Ding Xuexiang.India’s prime minister Narendra Modi will not be going either, instead sending ambassador to Brazil Dinesh Bhatia.Related...What Happens If… We Actually Exceed 1.5°C In Global Warming?Exclusive: Zack Polanski Attacks Starmer's Climate Record As PM Heads To Green SummitKeir Starmer Urged To Show 'True Climate Leadership' Amid UN's New 1.5C Warning'Starmer Has A Chance To Go Big On Delivering Climate Action – And He Must Not Wimp Out'

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