The Nepal Weekly 
November 11, 2025
On Thursday and Friday, November 6 -7, the capital of the state of Pará hosted the Climate Summit at Parque da Cidade (City Park). This international meeting brought together heads of state and government, ministers, and leaders of international organizations to discuss pressing climate change challenges and commitments.
Convened by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the meeting represents a key milestone in the process of mobilization and international dialogue on the climate agenda. Immediately after the Summit, the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held from November 10 – 21, also in Belém.
According to Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, Secretary for Climate, Energy and the Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores / MRE), the structure of the Summit included a broad plenary session, which was opened by President Lula on the morning of November 6 and continued through November 7. On Thursday afternoon, the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) luncheon was organizd in parallel.
“Throughout the two days, there were three thematic sessions chaired by the president. The themes were Forests and Oceans on the afternoon of November 6, Energy Transition on the morning of November 7, and 10 Years of the Paris Agreement, NDCs, and Financing in the afternoon of November 7,” the ambassador detailed about the Climate Summit’s agenda, which is listed at the end of this article.
For Ambassador Liliam Chagas, Director of the Climate Department at the MRE and Brazil’s negotiator at COP30, holding the summit in Belém reflects Brazil’s decision to give a strong political profile to the issue of climate change. “The world collectively needs to reverse this trend of rising temperatures. We already have a vast body of rules, norms, tools, and mechanisms to help countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. This is the time to elevate the issue and give it the high-level attention it deserves,” she said.
“Countries are deeply concerned, and communities around the world are worried about the growing number of climate events everywhere. That is why this summit aims to generate political momentum for these discussions. The agenda reflects the main topics that will be discussed at the COP – but this time, with the world’s top leaders,” the ambassador stressed.
COP30 in Brazil: What is at stake for global collaboration on climate and nature?
As the world gathers in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) from 10-21 November, the stakes are high.
This climate summit marks a pivotal moment – a full decade after the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 – when the climate agenda confronts a fundamentally transformed global landscape.
What governments once led the charge on climate action with unprecedented political support, the challenge today is different.
The private sector is now mobilized, green markets are forming and real economy transformation is picking up speed.
Yet, as policy ambition is declining, the gap between what is needed and what governments are committing to do remains perilously wide.
COP30 represents a critical moment for assessing whether the mechanisms established by the Paris Agreement are actually delivering results.
Remarkably, the business case for climate action has become increasingly compelling.
The World Economic Forum’s Alliance of CEO Climate Leasers – representing $4 trillion in revenues across 130+ companies – has demonstrated that between 2019 and 2023, members reduced aggregate emissions by 12% while growing revenues by 20%.
The global market for green technologies, including solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries, has nearly quadrupled since 2015 to exceed $700 billion annually, a testament to the commercial viability of the climate economy.
Yet this private-sector momentum faces growing headwinds from policy uncertainty, fiscal pressures and geopolitical tensions.
COP30 must reignite the political will necessary to unlock the historic economic opportunity that climate action represents.
Addressing the NDC ambition gap
Acritical challenge emerging ahead of COP30 concerns national climate plans.
By 2025, countries were required to submit their third generation of Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs 3.0 – representing their most ambitious climate pledges yet. These updated NDCs, covering the 2025-2035 period, must demonstrate significant progression and align with the 1.5°C temperature goal.
But progress has been sluggish. At the time of writing, 69 major economies, representing 61% of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), have submitted these plans, according to theClimateWatch NDC Tracker, with China submitting on 3 November.
The financing imperatives
The COP30 President, Andre Correa do Lago, Brazil wants to help developing countries secure more funding for climate mitigation and resilience efforts.
COP29 in Azerbaijan established a new Baku Finance Goal of delivering at least $300 billion annually for developing countries by 2035.
Yet this figure falls dramatically short of the much larger $1,3 trillion annual target needed by vulnerable nations to address climate impacts. Also known as the new collective quantified goal, or NCQG, it calls on countries to mobilize $1.3 trillion in international climate finance by 2035.
While wealthy nations pledged to meet the $300 billion commitment, the pathway to scaling finance to $1.3 trillion remains murky. Most critically, governments acknowledge that private-sector investment must become the primary driver of this scaling, yet concrete mechanisms to mobilize private capital at scale remain underdeveloped.
Meanwhile, the UN Environment Programme’s Adaptation Gap Report 2025 estimates the world will need approximately $310 billion annually to adapt to climate impacts – rising sea levels, heat extremes and intensifying storms.
Current adaptation spending stands at only $26 billion annually, roughly 12 times below what is needed.
