Qualla: 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: Introduction

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Xuthoria, CC BY-SA 4.0. The thirtieth climate summit on Earth did not happen in Geneva or Paris or Dubai. It happened in Belem, a five-hundred-thousand-person Brazilian port city at the mouth of the Amazon, 90 miles from the Atlantic, sweating through 27 degree days and afternoon downpours. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had fought for this. When he stood up at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in 2022 and announced the bid, his argument was simple: the countries talking about the Amazon had never held a major climate summit anywhere near it. That changed between 10 and 21 November 2025, when delegates from 194 parties stepped off their planes at Val-de-Cans and walked into the rainforest's own capital.

Image: Xuthoria | CC BY-SA 4.0

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: A Capital on Loan

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Xuthoria, CC BY-SA 4.0. On 4 November 2025, Lula signed a law briefly and symbolically transferring the Brazilian national capital from Brasilia to Belem for the duration of the conference. All presidential acts, all ministerial orders, all three branches of government could conduct official business fr...

Image: Xuthoria | CC BY-SA 4.0

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: The Room Shortage That Became a Crisis

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sintegrity, CC BY-SA 4.0. Months before the opening ceremony, Airbnb listings in Belem that normally rented for 11 US dollars a night were priced at 9,320. One single-occupancy flat on Booking.com was listed at 15,266 dollars per night. Twenty-seven countries signed a letter asking Brazil to fix the price...

Image: Sintegrity | CC BY-SA 4.0

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: The Fight Over a Word

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Xavier Lejeune, CC BY 4.0. The most contentious issue at COP30 came down to a single phrase: phase out fossil fuels. More than eighty countries, including the European Union, Colombia, and Kenya, pushed for binding language committing the world to end coal, oil, and gas extraction on a schedule. Saudi Arab...

Image: Xavier Lejeune | CC BY 4.0

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: What Belem Did Produce

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Scann, CC0. The compromise text committed countries to tripling climate adaptation finance by 2035, without saying who would pay. It launched a Just Transition Mechanism to support fairness in the shift away from carbon-intensive economies. It adopted 59 global indicators to track adaptation...

Image: Scann | CC0

2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference: The City That Hosted It

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Lula Oficial, CC BY-SA 4.0. Belem during the conference was a city performing itself. Traditional carnival groups from Para, including the Cordao da Bicharada, mingled with a visiting musical roster that included Gilberto Gil, Ney Matogrosso, Fafa de Belem, Anitta, Seu Jorge, and British singer Chris Martin...

Image: Lula Oficial | CC BY-SA 4.0