By Atoyebi Nike
Dozens of world leaders are gathering in Belém, Brazil, between Thursday and Friday for high-level discussions ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, which officially opens on Monday. The talks are aimed at accelerating global efforts to curb rising temperatures.
European leaders at the pre-summit meeting include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alongside officials from the EU and the United Nations.
Brazil hopes the gathering will build momentum for COP30, which will welcome tens of thousands of participants from nearly 200 countries. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has described the summit as the “COP of Truth,” said he expects concrete commitments despite global political and economic tensions.
The United States, under President Donald Trump, has maintained its fossil fuel agenda and will not send a high-level delegation to the conference, according to the White House.
On Thursday, leaders are expected to unveil a new multibillion-dollar fund to protect tropical forests, described as the planet’s “green lungs.” Progress on previous deforestation pledges remains slow. Nearly seven million hectares of primary forest were lost in 2024, despite a global commitment by 140 countries to stop forest loss by 2030.
The Belém discussions will also push for coordinated global fire management strategies, promote Brazil’s sustainable fuels plan to expand production fourfold by 2035, and endorse a declaration targeting hunger, poverty and climate resilience.
