SAO PAULO - Brazil on Monday opens three weeks of events linked to the COP30 climate summit, hoping to showcase a world still determined to tackle global warming.
Business leaders meeting in Sao Paulo are pushing for stronger policies for financing the energy transition, with an open letter on Monday asking governments “urgently” for incentives to adopt renewable energy in lieu of fossil fuels.
"It's a recognition from the business groups of the importance of multilateralism and the importance of raising ambition," said CEO Maria Mendiluce of the We Mean Business Coalition, which coordinated the letter from 35 groups representing 100,000 companies.
In Rio de Janeiro on Monday, mayors, governors and other subnational leaders will attend a Local Leaders summit.
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Separately, Britain’s Prince William will preside over a ceremony in Rio for his annual Earthshot Prize recognizing contributions to environmentalism over the last year.
However, countries and corporates may be hard-pressed to project the same optimism that has marked climate diplomacy in recent years.
Today, global cooperation is stagnating amid geopolitical tensions and multiple wars. An erratic series of US tariffs has upended economic stability worldwide, while US reversals on clean energy policy and climate science have rattled investors. And while costs for renewable energy have plummeted to below fossil fuels, many countries are juggling competing goals such as food security or developing AI.
Business leaders still hope to press clean energy policies as a priority. “It makes strong business sense and ensures energy security and competitiveness,” said Gonzalo Sáenz de Miera, chairman of the Spanish Green Growth Group.
Rainforest summit
Brazil’s turn as this year’s host marks 33 years since the Rio Earth Summit, where countries first signed the United Nations treaty committing to tackling climate change.
The summit has since developed into a major multilateral forum, bringing rich and poor countries together with scientists and civil society to address the climate threat. But it has so far failed to halt the rise in carbon emissions, though the pace has slowed. About 40 percent of industrial-era emissions in the atmosphere have been released since the treaty was signed.
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“It's great to see so many business leaders and mayors converge in Brazil on the eve of COP30, showcasing their climate action, and seeking opportunities to collaborate and go further faster," said Dan Ioschpe, the board chairman at Brazil-based autoparts manufacturer Ioschpe-Maxion who is leading COP30 efforts to accelerate action by businesses and other non-state actors.
Brazil has said the Belem location was meant to shake things up by putting indigenous communities at the center of talks.
A flotilla carrying indigenous leaders and activists is making its way down the Amazon River to Belem, where the groups plan to deliver a list of conservation demands to world leaders later this week. During the conference, many indigenous groups plan to camp in the rainforest around the city.
