The COP30 conference in Belém, Brazil, has become a key platform for international leaders to address the global climate crisis.
The world is now at a critical juncture, with deforestation, heatwaves, droughts and the increasing impact of fossil fuel emissions, and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is now the most urgent challenge. Participants at the conference are discussing the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, carbon markets and international cooperation.
The Declaration on the Integrity of Climate Change Information was released on Wednesday, November 12. It is the first formal commitment to combat climate disinformation.
The declaration, signed by 12 countries, calls on governments, businesses and academics to promote accurate information and combat climate denialism and attacks on environmental science and environmental journalism.
The declaration commits each country to support a strong media ecosystem, provide equal access to accurate information and news about climate issues, strengthen the capacity to promote information integrity, and work with big tech to combat misinformation and irresponsible advertising. Signatories so far include Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, the Netherlands and Belgium.
A recent report by the international media content watchdog Coalition Against Climate Disinformation and the Observatory for Information Integrity, an environment and democracy research organization, found that the amount of COP-related disinformation circulating in the media and online increased by 267% from July to September 2025.
Meanwhile, the COP30 presidency’s open plenary “stocktake” ended in just three minutes, later declaring that further consultations were needed and the “stocktake” was postponed until Saturday. Additional discussions will be held on Thursday and Friday.
The global fossil fuel system is deeply intertwined with conflict, occupation and the climate crisis. Research by the UK-based Conflict and Environment Observatory has found that the world’s combined military is responsible for at least 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
This makes the global military the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter, behind only Russia, China, the United States and India.
The Global North spends 30 times more on its military than it does on climate finance. Global defence spending is set to reach $2.7 trillion by 2024 amid growing geopolitical instability. A group of experts has called for full accounting of military emissions.
Former US Vice-President Al Gore has warned at the COP30 climate conference that Bill Gates could back down on his stance on the climate crisis, fearing political influence and pressure from Donald Trump.
He called Bill Gates’ new stance “stupid” and said Trump was seriously damaging the US economy by turning his back on renewable energy and promoting fossil fuels.
According to Al Gore, Trump’s anti-climate policies are holding the US back in global competition; China has now surpassed the US in green technology exports to many countries around the world, and this trend is growing rapidly.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest annual report that renewables will become the world’s dominant energy source in the coming decade and that a shift away from fossil fuels is now “inevitable.”
The world will build more renewable energy projects in the next five years than in the past 40 years, the agency said. This growth will help meet the growing electricity demand for electric vehicles, air conditioning and artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
The report also pointed to a renaissance in nuclear power and big tech companies are looking to use low-carbon power to power their data centres. The IEA said global data centre investment will reach $580 billion by 2025, surpassing the amount spent on oil supplies.
Experts say a transition to a low-carbon energy system is the only path to a sustainable future. David Tong of Oil Change International called on world leaders at the COP30 conference to unite for a “rapid, fair and financially sound fossil fuel phase-out.” The world is still on track to reach its peak oil and coal extraction targets by 2030.
A new report by Amnesty International finds that a quarter of the world’s population lives within three miles (5 kilometers) of fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people.
The new emission reduction plans that countries have submitted ahead of the COP30 conference in Brazil are expected to have very limited impact on tackling the climate crisis.
Despite the rapid expansion of renewable energy, emissions from coal, oil and gas have increased by an average of 0.8% over the past decade. Fossil fuel emissions are set to rise by another 1% in 2025, according to the Global Carbon Project.
The latest data from the Climate Action Tracker shows that if current trends continue, global temperatures could rise by 2.6 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century, far exceeding the limits set in the Paris Agreement.
According to experts, if warming reaches 2.6 degrees Celsius, major disasters will occur around the world, such as the destruction of coral reefs, melting ice sheets and the degradation of the Amazon rainforest. So far, only 100 countries have updated their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is seen as a major obstacle to achieving global climate goals.
The session titled “Article 6 of the Paris Agreement: Pathways to Emission Reduction” organized at the Bangladesh Pavilion on the fourth day of the COP30 conference held in Belém, Brazil, discussed international cooperation, carbon markets and realistic strategies for emission reduction.
The session was chaired by Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Mohammad Navid Shafiullah and moderated by Additional Director General (ADG) of the Department of Environment Md. Ziaul Haque. Panellists included Sharif Jamil and Md. Ali Ahmed, who share regional and global perspectives. The “Nature and Climate Change” magazine was launched at the same event. Emphasis was placed on the discussion on transparent carbon trading mechanisms and cooperative mechanisms as per Articles 6.2 and 6.4, which will further strengthen Bangladesh’s leadership in international climate initiatives and commitment to sustainable development.
A climate justice flotilla of more than 100 boats carrying 5,000 indigenous activists, forest defenders and other civil society representatives has arrived in the host city of Belém, Brazil, to kick off the COP30 climate summit, which will run alongside the main climate talks.
Nearly 50 world leaders are also expected to attend, but many have left after the opening session. Deforestation, drought and climate change are rapidly pushing the Amazon rainforest towards a “tipping point” that could turn it from a carbon sink to a source of emissions. Scientists have warned that global warming must be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid this catastrophe.
The leaders of the UK, EU and Germany were present at the summit, but China, India and US President Donald Trump were absent. The question for all is: will COP30 succeed in achieving this global goal?
