Brazil's COP30 chief slams rich nations' fading climate will as China accelerates transition

Rich nations are losing interest in tackling the climate crisis even as China surges ahead in producing and deploying clean-energy technology, the president of the UN climate summit COP30 (conference of parties) has warned, setting a sharply critical tone before negotiations open in Belém on Monday.

André Corrêa do Lago, Brazil’s top climate diplomat and host of COP30, said the Global South was now driving momentum even as enthusiasm in the Global North “has visibly declined”.

Speaking in the Amazonian city where the two-week summit will convene, he said: “The reduction in enthusiasm of the Global North shows that the Global South is moving — and has been for years. It simply did not receive this much exposure before.”

He singled out China — the world’s largest emitter, but also the world’s largest producer and user of low-carbon energy — as the country pushing the energy transition fastest. “China is coming up with solutions for everyone,” he said.

“Solar panels are cheaper, highly competitive, and everywhere now. From a climate perspective, that is good.”

Rising emissions, stalling action

Ministers from 194 countries will gather at COP30 seeking an actionable plan to stay as close as possible to the 1.5°C limit in the Paris Agreement. Yet current national climate plans put the world on track for a disastrous 2.5°C of warming. Small island nations, represented by AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island States), say a global roadmap for deeper emissions cuts is essential.

“The 1.5°C target must remain our north star,” said Ilana Seid, Palau’s ambassador to the UN. “Progress so far has been insufficient. We need a response — or we don’t know where we’re going.”

The Brazilian hosts want COP30 to focus on “implementation” of promises already made: tripling renewable capacity, doubling energy efficiency and accelerating emissions cuts. But vulnerable countries say implementation is meaningless unless ambition is raised.

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On the eve of the summit, data shared with The Guardian reveals that one of the flagship commitments from COP26 — the Global Methane Pledge — is already faltering. Despite promising to cut methane by 30 per cent by 2030, six major signatories — the US, Australia, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iraq — now emit 8.5 per cent more methane than in 2020, according to satellite analysis by Kayrros.

The United States alone has increased methane emissions from its oil and gas operations by 18 per cent.

“Methane emissions are rising, despite worsening climate conditions,” said Antoine Rostand, Kayrros president. “The clock is ticking.”

Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term and accounts for nearly one-third of recent global heating. Cutting it is seen as the fastest way to slow near-term warming.

Durwood Zaelke of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development said the voluntary pledge is no longer enough. “We need a binding global methane agreement. The voluntary approach is failing,” he said.

Despite Brazil’s attempts to avoid early clashes, officials expect bitter fights over what will — and will not — be included on the agenda. Poor nations will press for assurances on climate finance, while many governments want a timeline to phase out fossil fuels.

But as Corrêa do Lago’s warning shows, the geopolitical landscape entering COP30 is already fractured: a retreating Global North, a rising Global South and a climate emergency that is outpacing political will.

With Agency Inputs

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