COP30 doesn’t start for another two weeks (opening its doors on 8th November) but from the end of this week the action in Brazil hots up.
Just who will be in Belem, the Brazilian city hosting COP30, during the official UN Conference has been a topic of some debate over the past months. Logistical challenges and concerns over accommodation and costs have dampened business leaders’ enthusiasm to attend, as have fears that business participation at COP will be viewed negatively by politicians and the public, who are cooling on net zero.
While that debate continues (Keir Starmer has recently announced he will attend COP30, after initially saying he didn’t intend to go), many businesses are instead opting to engage with the COP30 agenda in the more business-friendly city of São Paulo, which is preparing to kick off a packed program of activities.
The UN Environment Programme opens the São Paulo proceedings with an event this Friday (31st October) on ‘Connecting Cities and Nature’, followed by a series of major events that run separately from the main COP30 conference but bring business and political leaders together to discuss climate change and its impacts.
Bloomberg Philanthropies will be running a major event from 3 – 5 November looking at how business, finance and political leaders work together to drive forward action on the back of COP30 through a Business and Finance Forum and Local Leaders Forum. The UN PRI is also running its PRI in Person event on the 4-6 November which is badged as the world’s leading responsible investment conference.
Also on the 4th November the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launches its Emissions Gap Report giving an annual review of the gap between country commitments to emissions reduction and the reality of what more needs to be done if we are to meet Paris Agreement goals to limit global warming to 1.5 C.
On the 5th November Prince William will attend the fifth Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, the environmental awards programme that he launched to identify and accelerate solutions to global environmental challenges. Expect a star-studded line up which culminates in the finalists being whittled down to the winner of the £1 million prize.
The U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP30) Heads of State Summit then begins on 6th / 7th Nov. The annual summit aims to encourage governments to limit global temperature rises and Keir Starmer is expected to attend.
Ozone-depleting gases take centre stage on 3 - 7 November with the 37th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol, the treaty established to limit the production and use of gases such as CFCs, which destroy ozone.
On 11th November, the UNEP launches its Global Cooling Watch Report, which examines global concern over extreme heat, growing demand for cooling systems, and the limited access among vulnerable populations to this critical technology and systems.
While many business leaders will still gather in Belem for COP30’s diplomatic discussions, the current vibe suggests that numbers will be less than in previous years and participation more subdued (more closed door discussions and less main stage speaking) as businesses seek to tread the delicate balance between continuing to pursue climate action yet also avoiding antagonising politicians and public who are decidedly less enthusiastic about sustainability than they were just 12 months ago, at COP29.