On Thursday 6 November, more than 50 Heads of State and Government began gathering in Belém (Brazil) for a two-day high-level summit ahead of COP30, which officially opens on 10 November.
The Summit is being held in the conspicuous absence of the United States, which is not sending any delegations. In January, President Donald Trump announced his country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement for the second time.
Right from the start, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, made a bitter observation: “We have failed” to meet the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C set in Paris in 2015 (10 years after the Agreement, Editor’s note), he said, denouncing a “moral bankruptcy”.
He called on the leaders to “choose speed, scale and solidarity” in order to make Belém “a turning point and not the point of no return”.
The European Union wants to demonstrate its steadfastness and leadership. “Europe comes to Belém with our clear climate goals and our solidarity for those most at risk. The world needs strong multilateral action”, declared the President of the European Council, António Costa, on the X social network.
On the eve of the Summit, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, defined the European line in a press release.
She reaffirmed the EU’s “strong commitment” to the Paris Agreement and said that “the global climate transition is underway and irreversible”. She stressed the need to make it “fair, inclusive and equitable” and to “listen to partners in the South” to keep the 1.5°C target “within reach”.
The European Union arrives in Belém with a new national contribution (NDC) (see EUROPE 13746/1). This represents a net reduction in emissions of between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels, the first step towards a 90% reduction by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2050.
The aim is to accelerate the use of renewable energies, phase out fossil fuels and strengthen the monitoring of financial and adaptation commitments. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)