Amid rising global temperatures and increasingly severe climate disasters, the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30)opened on Monday with the goal of placing climate action back at the center of international priorities.

The two-week meeting comes at a pivotal moment as growing unilateral tendencies threaten to undermine collective efforts to confront a borderless crisis. It also marks the first such gathering since the U.S. administration once again withdrew from the Paris Agreement, which was adopted a decade ago.

Calling for collaboration

At the opening ceremony, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago said that multilateralism is definitely the way forward in the fight against climate change.

Despite recent setbacks, the living conditions of populations around the world can and must continue to improve, Correa do Lago said, adding that "science, education and culture are the path that we must follow."

Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said, "We find ourselves here in Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon," noting that just as the river is fed by over a thousand tributaries, the COP process must similarly be sustained – powered by many streams of international cooperation.

At the World Leaders Climate Action Summiton November 6 – a high-level segment of the COP30 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties to "choose to make Belem the turning point," expressing hope that the COP30 could mark the beginning of a decade of accelerated development and implementation of climate action.

A key focus of COP30 is the submission of a new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – the emission-reduction targets pledged by each country under the Paris Agreement. Under the accord, all parties are expected to submit more ambitious, updated NDCs this year.

The latest Emissions Gap Report 2025, released by the UN Environment Programme, paints a sobering picture. As of September 30, fewer than one-third of the parties to the Paris Agreement had submitted or announced updated NDCs that include 2035 targets.

Even if all current pledges are fully implemented, the report estimates global warming this century would reach between 2.3 and 2.5 degrees Celsius – exceeding the Paris Agreement's limit of 2 degrees.

Bridging differences

Key topics of the conference also include bridging the differences between developed and developing countries on emission reductions and financing, as well as advancing global climate governance.

Guterres emphasized at the leaders' summit that all parties must demonstrate a clear and credible path to reaching the $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2035, as agreed at the COP 29 in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

Developed countries, he noted, must take the lead in mobilizing 300 billion dollars annually – delivering affordable, predictable finance at the agreed scale.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva outlined three pillars of action to guide the COP30 negotiations at Monday's opening ceremony: fulfilling existing climate commitments, enhancing global governance, and placing people at the center of climate-related decisions.

Lula called for the establishment of a Global Climate Council linked to the UN General Assembly to enhance coordination and political accountability among nations.

"We need institutions that are up to the scale of the crisis we are facing," he added.

It's worth noting that the United States will not send any high-level officials to the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil, a White House official recently confirmed.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday criticized the absence of the U.S., the world's biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases, from the gathering.

South-South cooperation

South-South cooperation is set to be a highlight of the COP30. As the host nation, Brazil has already invited multiple countries to join in protecting the Amazon rainforest. Lula also said that in the poor regions of Latin America and Africa, collaborative efforts to develop renewable energy could create jobs and economic benefits while addressing climate change.

China's contributions to global climate action, particularly through South-South cooperation, are expected to draw significant attention during the conference. Beijing has submitted its 2035 NDCs to the UNFCCC Secretariat, expanding the targets to cover all greenhouse gases across the entire economy – a historic first.

On Monday, the "China Pavilion" series of the COP30 side events kicked off in Belem, with the first session focusing on ecological civilization and the practice of building a "Beautiful China."

The series will run through November 20, featuring upcoming sessions on topics such as the high-quality development and experience-sharing of China's carbon market, China's path to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and the country's energy transition and new energy development.