Translated by Francesca Valsecchi
COP30 in Belém, hosted in the heart of the Amazon from November 10 to November 21, took place in a context of growing climate crisis and high political expectations. Important matters were discussed, such as the new fund for the conservation of tropical forests. However, the session ended without any real turning point, reflecting the image of a climate diplomacy which is still unable to respond effectively to the urgency of the crisis.
Global Mutirão
The key outcome of COP30 was the Global Mutirão: the final document approved unanimously after weeks of negotiations. Since the beginning of the conference, the Brazilian presidency had been inviting the delegations to build a big global coalition for the climate action, involving governments, young people, indigenous populations, the civil society, the academic world and the private sector.
Inspired by Brazilian ancestral traditions of collective commitment and solidarity, the Mutirão has been conceived as a universal appeal to a global mobilization, as to join forces and provide climate solutions on a large scale. On this matter, the global Mutirão platform has been launched, integrated in the COP30 official website, with the aim to create an access point to participate, share, and reinforce initiatives to sustain the protection of the environment, mobilizing not only the institutions but also communities and individuals.
The political agreement
Referring to contents, the Global Mutirão reaffirms the principles of Paris Agreement, recalling the aim to keep the increase of global temperature to 1,5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, stressing the need to increase the fundings dedicated to climate, with particular attention to the most vulnerable countries.
The document in fact suggests mobilising up to 1,300 billion dollars every year by 2035 and to treble the fundings destinated to adaptation, confirming the political willingness to reinforce international cooperation to face climate crisis.
The official document also introduces some voluntary initiatives which are thought to accompany the implementation of the commitments made: the Global Implementation Accelerator, designed as an initiative to sustain countries in the implementation of their climate goals, and the Belém Mission to 1.5°C, aimed at enabling ambition of nationally determined contributions.
Besides, the Global Mutirão recognises the importance of human rights and climate justice, emphasizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, underling the necessity of protection and the reactivation of natural ecosystems, explicitly quoting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, of local communities, migrants, children and vulnerable communities, as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity.
Limitations
Despite its political ambitions, the document has significant limitations. First of all, it remains a non-binding document, and it does not provide clear monitoring tools.
Then, the voluntary initiatives designed to accompany the implementation of the commitments, the Belém Mission to 1.5°C and the Global Implementation Accelerator remain poorly defined and lack binding deadlines, leaving doubts about the concreteness of future actions.
Finally, the main criticism concerns the absence of a clear roadmap on the transition from fossil fuels. Despite pressures from numerous countries and civil society, the document does not include any explicit reference to the phasing out of coal, oil and gas.
An implementation COP
Although the Brazilian Presidency itself had defined COP30 as an “implementation COP” – according to which the focus would have been on concrete actions to implement already agreed policies – and not on negotiations for new targets, the result was a compromise which prioritises political consent over climate ambition.
In conclusion, Belém COP30 leaves an ambivalent legacy. On the one hand, the Global Mutirão promotes global cooperation, opens spaces for non-state participation and calls for shared responsibility to face climate crisis; on the other hand, the negotiated response is insufficient. The absence of concrete tools, binding obligations and a phase-out of fossil fuels risks compromising every climate ambition.
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