COP30 in BrazilGlobal climate policy: the bottom line and future prospects

29 April 2026, by Franziska Neigenfind

Photo: Franziska Neigenfind/ ESRAH/UHH

Panel discussion with: Philippe Raposo, Sarah Zitterbarth, Prof. Dr. Eduardo Gonçalves Gresse, and Dr. Anna Fünfgeld (from left to right).

Widespread conflicts, nationalist trends, and geopolitical crises represent major obstacles to international climate negotiations. What is the status quo for climate protection after the latest UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), hosted in Belém, Brazil? And how does the future of international climate diplomacy look? Last Thursday, the University of Hamburg’s Cluster of Excellence CLICCS organized a panel discussion that brought together prominent and respected actors from the scientific community, diplomacy and civil society to discuss the outcomes of the COP30 and what they mean for future international climate policy. Here, the spotlight was on the remarks made by Philippe Raposo, a Brazilian diplomat and expert on global environmental policy; Sarah Zitterbarth from Climate Alliance Germany, a civil society consortium for climate protection; and Dr. Eduardo Gonçalves Gresse, a sociologist whose research focuses on Brazil’s role in global environmental governance. Political scientist Dr. Anna Fünfgeld moderated the panel discussion and the lively exchanges with the audience.

In his introductory presentation, Eduardo Gonçalves Gresse provided an overview of the current negotiation dynamics, atmosphere, political context, and the outcomes of the negotiations in Belém. He pointed out the breakdowns in international climate policy, which were on the rise due to geopolitical conflicts and clashing interests, while also stressing the importance of multilateral approaches, i.e., of exchanges between countries, which remained an essential tool for overcoming the climate crisis despite all adversities. In this regard, he claimed, more intensive collaboration at the level of civil society, the private economy, and between nations was needed. Gresse also underscored the importance of social responses to the ecological crisis: “Social movements and social mobilization are critical to achieving far-reaching changes in the context of climate protection.” Above all, Gresse felt society’s duty to resolutely counter the rise of autocratic forces was absolutely indispensable, now more than ever.

Philippe Raposo emphasized that, despite the geopolitical tensions and challenges, the Climate Change Conference in Belém symbolized the resilience of climate multilateralism. He reported that a total of 56 resolutions had been unanimously ratified, underscoring the efforts made to strengthen and maintain multilateral climate policy despite the current geopolitical challenges. He also stressed the importance of supplemental measures like the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), which had recently commenced operations, and the work being done on roadmaps for phasing out fossil fuels and for limiting and reversing deforestation. In Raposo’s view, their goal was to boost the effectiveness of international climate negotiations and make measurable progress in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. He also emphasized Brazil’s efforts under President Lula, who had supported these roadmaps and used his own diplomatic position and leadership skills to raise international awareness of these goals and exert pressure on other actors.

Sarah Zitterbarth from Climate Alliance Germany underscored the successes but also the fragile structures of global climate policy. As she stressed, the national climate targets (nationally determined contributions (NDCs)) – that is, individual countries’ own plans for reducing national greenhouse-gas emissions – were at the heart of the Paris Agreement. These plans are to be updated every five years to ensure global progress in terms of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. Further, she emphasized that, in the months leading up to the COP30, particular attention had been paid to submitting these updated NDCs for 2035. Yet many countries had missed the deadline or presented inadequate climate protection plans. One of the central expectations of the conference was to make headway in the revision and implementation of the NDCs so as to spur on climate protection. However, this aspect was not explicitly included in the conference agenda, which Zitterbarth saw as a missed opportunity to create urgently needed stimulus for climate protection. She called for stepping up the social pressure on political actors and forging new alliances to e.g. expedite the phasing out of fossil energies. She considered social engagement, large-scale mobilization, and courage as essential to accelerating the requisite transition toward climate-friendly and socially just ways of living and doing business. In particular, she stressed the importance of concrete civil society campaigns like protests and petitions to protect the Amazon rainforests. Such initiatives, Zitterbarth claimed, offered an effective means of raising public awareness and creating pressure, especially in situations in which federal governments took no or insufficient action.