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COP30 signals a new era for landscapes, Indigenous knowledge, and rights-based climate action precisely because the trajectory of earlier COPs left critical gaps that now demand correction. COP21 in Paris established the temperature goals but treated ecosystems largely as carbon reservoirs rather than living climate systems. COP26 in Glasgow brought forests into global headlines through the Forest Declaration, yet the pledge remained voluntary, and deforestation continued apa

When the UN decided to hold COP30 in Belém, it quietly changed the geometry of climate diplomacy. For the first time, negotiators gathered not in a distant capital but at the mouth of the Amazon itself, arguing over finance and emission targets while surrounded by the rainforest they were promising to protect (Reuters, 2025a). In the official narrative, it quickly became a “forest COP”: a summit defined by the launch of a vast new fund for tropical forests, fresh pledges for

“We've got this one beautiful blue and green planet, and we have to get together and do something to protect it before it's too late.”- Jane Goodall (1934-2025)  Credit: UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras The Pursuit of Climate Action   Since its inception in 1995, the Conference of the Parties (COP) has become the stage for global climate diplomacy under the UNFCCC member states. Through negotiations, framework agreements, and discussion, COP has slowly turned big promises into polici

The atmosphere will be one of urgency and symbolism when the world convenes in Belém, Brazil, to COP30. The Amazon, also known as the lungs of the planet, serves as a reminder as well as the backdrop of what is at stake. It is a victim and an essential ally in combating the climate crisis. With the world leaders, scientists, activists, and communities coming together, the demands are evident: this must be the summit, which will go beyond the promises and start acting.  A Clim

A hush falls over the hall. A young Pacific Island mother stepped on the podium, her traditional dress out of place against the rest of the suits. She puts her daughter to bed, closing her eyes and recites a poem to her that pleads with her land. At that point, policy disappears, and emotion comes up. Such scenes are now characteristic of COPs, where in addition to negotiations, art and storytelling make climate debate human through light installations, poetry, dance and prot

Beneath the Negotiation Table   Agriculture’s Invisible Climate Role   In the semi-arid plains of northern India, a farmer watches late monsoon clouds drift past, his millet and pulse fields cracking under a relentless sun. Across continents, from the Sahel and Arabian drylands to the Thar, Atacama, and Australia’s outback, similar stories unfold: landscapes drying faster than policies can respond. Over 1.1 billion people already face multidimensional poverty driven by heat,

Firelight Before the Conference   On a windless evening by a tidal creek, an older woman pinched out the lamp and let the moon light the circle. Children leaned in; a fisherman set down a net; a midwife warmed her hands. She began with the story her grandmother told of the river that is an elder, of bread shared with a traveler, of a chief who lost his seat because power is borrowed from the people and the earth. Every face around the circle knew the endings before she spoke

Promises of climate finance continue to spark intense debate and skepticism as COP29’s headline commitment to mobilize $300 billion yearly by 2035 and the broader $1.3 trillion Baku-to-Belém Roadmap, moves into the spotlight for COP30 in Brazil. Advocates call it an “insurance policy for humanity,” but already, analysts and vulnerable countries argue the scale and delivery mechanisms are still “abysmally poor” compared to global needs.   For many, the credibility crisis cente

When global climate negotiations were first launched in 1990s, the poorest countries in the world used to appear as mere tiny voices in a large hall. This was followed by the dominance of the industrialized countries and the emergent economies by the UN climate conference (COP) meeting as the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that are the most vulnerable to climate change fight to have their voices heard. LDC delegations were very small and congested, incapable of taking paral

Let’s face it, the climate change fight is starting to feel a bit like a never-ending group project where half the team keeps pushing deadlines and the other half is stuck wondering if anyone’s reading the assignment at all. Take COP29, for example; the much-hyped showdown for “moving beyond fossil fuels.” Leaders swaggered in, campaign slogans and green promises in tow, and left us with… well, not much more than another bookmark on the long road to action.    The issue of ph

A Journey Through Environmental Awareness, International Law, and Climate Change . Long before the concepts of "climate change" or "sustainability" were formalized, people across the world already understood instinctively that nature was sacred. Ancient farmers guarded their water sources; forest dwellers took only what they needed, and spiritual traditions across continents taught respect for the earth. But these were local, scattered efforts with quiet whispers of stewardsh