As the final gavel echoed across the humid expanse of Belém, Brazil, on November 27, 2025, the world’s eyes turned anxiously to the Amazon. For two weeks, COP30 – the thirtieth United Nations climate summit – convened on the edge of the world’s largest rainforest, a symbolic and strategic location that underscored the gravity of the climate crisis and the urgency to act. But as delegates, activists, and faith leaders departed, a single question lingered: did COP30 take us any closer to a safer, more just future?
This year’s conference, billed as the “implementation COP,” was designed to shift the Paris Agreement and the 2023 Global Stocktake from paper promises into real-world progress. According to the European Commission, all countries were expected to submit new or updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), laying out their plans to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and ideally, to 1.5°C. The stakes were high, and the expectations even higher.
Just before the summit began, the European Union stepped forward with a bold new NDC: a commitment to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 66.25% to 72.5% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels, aiming for an ambitious 90% net reduction by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2050. Other major economies, including Brazil, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, also submitted stronger climate plans. By the time the conference closed, more than 122 parties had submitted NDCs, covering nearly 80% of global emissions and charting a path to reduce emissions about 12% below 2019 levels by 2035.
For context, without the Paris Agreement, emissions were projected to rise by as much as 48% above 2019 levels by 2035. As the European Commission put it, “The Paris Agreement is working – it has bent the global emissions curve. But the world is not yet where it needs to be.”
Adaptation – preparing communities for the impacts of climate change already underway – took center stage in Belém. The new global finance goal, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), aims to mobilize at least $300 billion per year by 2035 from public sources, as part of a massive $1.3 trillion annually from all sources. Yet developing countries pushed hard for more support, pointing out that projects to protect lives – like flood defenses and drought-resistant water systems – have historically struggled to attract private investment compared to renewable energy initiatives.
By the summit’s end, parties agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035 within the NCQG, a move hailed as a step toward closing the adaptation gap. The EU and its member states remain the world’s largest provider of climate finance, delivering €31.7 billion in 2024, with about half directed toward adaptation and resilience. There was also progress on adaptation indicators – new ways to measure whether these efforts are actually making communities safer on the ground.
But perhaps the most contentious issue at COP30 was the transition away from fossil fuels. Echoing the direction set at COP28 in Dubai, calls grew louder for explicit commitments to phase out coal, oil, and gas. The Brazilian concept of the mutirão – a collective, community-driven effort – became a rallying cry for the scale of transformation needed. The EU, already on a path to climate neutrality by 2050, pointed to its own progress: in 2024, renewables made up 47% of its electricity mix, and overall energy consumption fell by 3% compared to 2022, led by residential savings.
At COP30, the EU recommitted to the pledges made in Dubai: to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030. A coalition of more than 80 countries, led by Brazil, launched a partnership to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. The EU urged all major emitters to follow suit, insisting that “science and just-transition measures that leave no one behind” must guide the way.
Yet the human dimension of this transition was never far from view. COP30 established a Just Transition Mechanism to support workers and communities as economies shift to clean energy. The EU delegation emphasized the importance of social dialogue, meeting throughout the summit with youth groups, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, labor representatives, and civil society networks. “Meaningful social dialogue is essential to designing transition pathways that are fair and effective,” the EU stated, reflecting a growing consensus that climate action must be inclusive to succeed.
Nowhere was the call for inclusion louder than among Indigenous leaders. According to Episcopal News Service, Indigenous people from around the world shared strikingly similar stories of environmental advocacy and justice. The Rev. Isaiah “Shaneequa” Brokenleg, interim Indigenous Ministries missioner for the Episcopal Church and a Lakota representative, observed, “One of the things I noticed that is both sad and hopeful is that, like in all of the panels, the story [of Indigenous people worldwide] is so much the same.”
From New Zealand’s Māori regulating jade mining to protect sacred lands to Amazonian tribes fighting for sovereignty over their forests, the message was clear: Indigenous peoples are on the front lines of both climate impacts and solutions. The Episcopal Church, participating in its 11th consecutive COP, joined an Anglican Communion delegation led by Archbishop of Brazil Marinez Santos Bassoto, herself the Anglican bishop of the Amazon.
Faith communities played a visible role in Belém, organizing ecumenical marches, vigils, and a worship service at Catedral Santa Maria. Martha Jarvis, the Anglican Communion’s U.N. representative, highlighted the “Lungs of the Earth” initiative, focusing on restoring and protecting forests, oceans, and frozen landscapes. “This focus on being in the Amazon, the importance of the COP being right at the center of one of the ‘lungs of the earth,’ made it into many political declarations,” Jarvis explained.
Despite strong support – more than 90 countries backed a deforestation roadmap – a final agreement on forest protection proved elusive. According to the Forest Declaration Assessment 2025, 8.1 million hectares of forest were lost globally in 2024 alone. However, there were bright spots: several countries pledged $7 billion for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, a multilateral fund to help developing nations preserve their tropical forests. The EU also endorsed new funding mechanisms to reward conservation efforts and renewed its commitment to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
Gender equality and inclusive climate action also rose to the fore, with COP30 adopting the Belém Gender Action Plan, prioritizing the role of women and girls in climate decision-making. As the European Commission noted, “Women and girls are often on the frontline of climate impacts and must be central to decision-making.”
In the end, while COP30 did not resolve every issue or deliver all the hoped-for breakthroughs, it marked a new phase in the global fight against climate change: a shift from promises to implementation. As European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra, reflected, “Climate change is a global problem that requires a collective response. And even though last week was chaotic and messy, we moved in the right direction. But make no mistake: the EU had hoped for more. This is not about saving the planet. It’s about recognizing the harsh realities of climate change and its skyrocketing social, economic, and ecological costs.”
The world leaves Belém with hope, a long to-do list, and a renewed sense that only collective, inclusive action – from governments, communities, and individuals – can deliver the safer, fairer future that COP30 set out to achieve.
