The Scoop
Climate negotiators meeting at this year’s COP30 in Brazil must “rethink many things” as a result of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the summit’s president told Semafor in an interview.
André Corrêa do Lago, a veteran diplomat and economist, acknowledged that “the presidents of previous COPs think that the context in which they did their COPs was as complicated as this one, so I have to be modest about the complications.”
“But the truth is that the fact that the US is leaving an agreement that was designed for the US to join is obviously something that obliged us to rethink many things.”
His remarks come amid growing doubts among climate officials over whether the November talks will be successful: Increased opposition in the US toward measures to address climate change have already dimmed COP30’s prospects, as has pressure on government budgets elsewhere, especially in Europe where countries are ramping up defense spending. Businesses have also expressed concern over a lack of accommodation and infrastructure in Belém, the summit’s host city.
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Corrêa do Lago said that the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement — set to officially take place by January 2026 — has given rise to concerns among other rich countries that they will have to fill the resource gap left by Washington, as well as broader anxieties over the possible fallout from the US not aggressively combating climate change.
But “there is the other side,” Corrêa do Lago added: Individual states which together account for about two-thirds of the total US economy have pledged to remain committed to the Paris Agreement — cumulatively amounting to more than the GDP of China.
The Brazilian also pushed back on concerns over Belém’s ability to host the summit: “There will be activities in Rio and São Paulo before Belém,” Corrêa do Lago said. “But we definitely want the actual agenda to happen in Belém, and we will find a way of doing it.”
Notable
- The US risks missing out on “enormous” economic opportunities by pulling back from fighting climate change, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said before leaving office this year, according to DW.
- Belém is racing to get ready for the November COP30 talks, with examples including a 17-story office tower rushing to transform itself into a hotel, while a pier for cruise liners is under construction, Bloomberg reported.