COP30 from 10 to 21 November 2025

The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, which is widely called as COP30, is the upcoming 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, all set to be held in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025.

Representatives from hundreds of nations gather in Belém, Brazil for the annual UN climate “conference of the parties” – COP30 – against a backdrop of incredibly challenging geopolitical and climate realities. Grossly insufficient action from world leaders has already resulted in worsening climate extreme events and has put the crucial, science-informed goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels out of reach.

Political headwinds – including the Trump administration’s attacks on climate science and clean energy policies in the United States – and the fossil fuel industry’s continued deceptions and obstruction are conspiring to make this a very fraught moment for climate action. Yet, with the mounting economic and human toll of climate disasters and the benefits of affordable, renewable energy so clear and urgent, there is still space for genuine progress and alignment at COP30 – and world leaders must seize it!

The significance of this COP taking place in Brazil, a COP that should forefront the rights of indigenous communities and the protection of the Amazon forest, cannot be overstated. Across the world, frontline communities bearing a disproportionate toll of climate impacts need solutions that prioritize their needs – not the profits of big polluters and billionaires seeking to evade their responsibility for driving the climate crisis. Unfortunately, the complicated logistics and high accommodation costs for this COP are already creating concerns about inclusivity, especially for those with fewer resources.

COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago and CEO Ana Toni have laid out a strong vision for a focus on implementation of actions to address climate change, not just a list of future aspirations. They have been engaged in diplomacy all year, bilaterally and multilaterally, to try to lay the groundwork for consensus at COP30 even in the face of geopolitical tensions.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ stark remarks on the 1,5oC climate goal, made at the 75th anniversary of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) last week, hit hard: ”…one thing is already clear: we will not be able to contain the global warming below 1.5 degrees in the next few years. The overshooting is now inevitable, which means that we are going to have a period, bigger or smaller, with higher or lower intensity, above 1.5 degrees in the years to come.”

Ten years after securing the Paris Agreement, the fact that the world is now on the verge of exceeding 1.5°C of warming on a long-term basis—after already surpassing it temporarily for a full year in 2024 – was not inevitable. It is an absolutely enraging, shameful, and heart-breaking consequence of continued delays and obstruction of ambitious action. The fault lies entirely with gutless, self-interested political leaders – especially those from richer, high-emitting nations—and the fossil fuel industry, which has continued to brazenly and shamelessly prioritize its profits over the planet.

Breaching 1.5°C will undoubtedly unleash further damaging and irreversible climate harms on the world, but it is not a cliff edge. Climate impacts unfold and accelerate on a continuum, and even now, at about 1.3°C of global warming, we are— and have been—seeing profound harms to people and the planet.

The choices our political leaders make now – including at COP30 – will determine the future we leave to our children and grandchildren. Those choices include prioritizing actions to:

• sharply curtail heat-trapping emissions, phase out fossil fuels and drive toward net negative heat-trapping emissions;

• invest in climate resilience;

• share the burdens and opportunities of climate action equitably;  

• secure justice for people on the frontlines of the climate crisis; and\

• demand accountability for fossil fuel companies and others who have contributed the most to the climate crisis.

Nepal plans to highlight outcomes from the “Sagarmatha Sambaad 2025,” particularly on Himalayan conservation.

The Ministry of Forests and Environment is holding phased meetings with government, NGO, and development partners to finalize the agenda, which includes global reviews of climate achievements, loss and damage, adaptation, mitigation, carbon finance, and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Nepal will also present issues related to recent climate-induced losses and disasters, emphasizing the impacts on the country due to shifting monsoon patterns and rising Himalayan temperatures, projected to increase 0.3–0.7°C above global averages.

UNDP Nepal analysts suggest that countries like Nepal must push for global compensation for climate loss while strengthening policy, technology, and capacity.

Minister Dr. Madan Prasad Pariyar is expected to lead Nepal’s ministerial delegation at COP-30.