Brasilia: Brazil has issued an urgent call for governments worldwide to submit stronger climate action plans, warning that global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 °C remain dangerously off track.
Only 28 countries have so far provided updated national commitments to the UN, with major emitters such as China and the European Union yet to deliver their proposals. These nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are due by 25 September, when the UN will compile a synthesis report assessing global progress.
Brazil, which will host the COP30 UN climate summit in Belém this November, has stepped up diplomatic pressure in recent days. André Corrêa do Lago, the Brazilian diplomat presiding over the talks, wrote to governments urging them to submit ambitious NDCs and warning that weak targets would trigger further negotiations at the summit.
“Far from representing mere climate targets for 2035, our NDCs represent the vision of our shared future. If the image shown by NDCs turns out disappointing, it is our collective responsibility to convert it into a picture that will ensure a livable planet,” he said.
Brazil has called a special presidency consultation on 25 September in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, to press countries on their pledges. A second meeting is scheduled for October 15. Such sessions are rare before a Cop summit and reflect concerns about avoiding the deadlock that has slowed recent climate talks.
The upcoming COP30 faces significant logistical and geopolitical hurdles. Belém, a city at the mouth of the Amazon River, has only about 18,000 hotel rooms, far short of the estimated 50,000 visitors expected to arrive.
The government has chartered cruise ships to provide extra capacity and launched a platform for local residents to rent accommodation, but prices remain steep, with some rooms costing more than $1,000 a night. Civil society groups warn that this risks excluding poorer nations and smaller organisations.
The summit’s agenda has also been contentious. While NDCs were initially not slated for negotiation in Belém, Brazil has now conceded that they will be central to discussions after pressure from other countries. “There is a huge debate about trust in these negotiations, and I firmly believe that transparency is essential,” do Lago said.
The talks will take place amid growing international tension, including the fallout from Donald Trump’s recent show of support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
