COP30 opened in Brazil with leaders outlining plans to combat climate change
發佈日期: 2025-11-11 21:56
TVB News
World leaders have gathered in Brazil for the 30th UN climate conference or COP30. A litany of recent weather disasters rang long at the conference's opening Monday
with Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, the recent typhoons in the Philippines and the deadly tornado in Brazil at the forefront.
This as the United States was a no show at the climate conference, with activists using an empty chair to drive home America's absence as the world's richest nation and second-biggest carbon polluter.
COP30 opened in Belem, a weathered city on the edge of the Brazilian Amazon, with leaders and representatives from 195 nations attending for talks on climate change. Only the US, San Marino, Afghanistan and Myanmar were no shows.
Talks focused on the devastation wrought on some of the world's poorest places and to show the need to work collectively to fight global warming.
Simon Stiell, UN climate executive secretary said: "Global heating is already dealing some devastating blows in every country. Just look at the super typhoons blasting the Philippines and Vietnam, the brutality of Hurricane Melissa, crushing lives and businesses. The cost of delay are skyrocketing for every nation. And that's why we're here. We must accelerate in the Amazon."
But is was not all doom and gloom as statistics show planet heating emissions such as greenhouse gases are on a downward spiral.
Simon Stiell said: "We're now bending the curve of planet heating emissions downwards for the very first time."
He added the new NDC or Nationally Determined Contribution plans submitted by each country under the Paris agreement outlining their goals states they will reduce emissions by 12 percent in 2035.
There were demonstrations outside the COP30 venue calling for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to leave lobbyists out of the agreement. Activists shared stories about how industrial agriculture affected their indigenous lands and homes.
Meanwhile, indigenous people from across the world came to the opening of their pavilion. Despite delay due to a power outage, the groups sang songs, performed ceremonies and spoke about the importance of indigenous peoples in spaces like COP.
