On its first day, COP30 managed to overcome a basic but notoriously contentious obstacle: settling on an agenda. It’s a testament to COP30’s leaders that they avoided a time-sucking showdown. (At prior COPs, the first few days have often been wasted on discussions about what to discuss.) One item that didn’t make the cut: A debate over unilateral trade measures — read: tariffs, or the EU’s CBAM — which a group of countries led by China had pushed to include. Brazil proposed a separate new International Forum on Climate Change and Trade instead. But it’s not clear that will fare any better: A European Union official told me the bloc is uncertain “how creating this additional forum would add value to the existing processes.”
Other literal nuts and bolts of COP are not faring so well. When I first arrived at the summit venue yesterday morning, the facility was still very much under construction. The section for delegation offices — no sign of one for the US — was a jumble of lumber, cables, and office furniture (except for China’s office, which was miraculously already in pristine condition). The main hall, essentially a very long gray tent, was filled with the sounds of power tools and hadn’t yet been air-conditioned, giving it the feeling of a sweltering urban jungle. This was accentuated later by a torrential downpour that, reverberating off the tent, made conversation almost impossible. Perfect conditions for thoughtful negotiation. Overall I respectfully rank this COP facility near the bottom of the six or so I’ve seen: Easier to navigate than the chaotic maze of COP27 in Egypt, but with none of the awe-inducing spectacles of COP28 in Dubai. And if you’re hungry… good luck.
Looking ahead, it’s still not clear whether next year’s COP will be in Australia or Turkey (or, as a compromise, in Germany — home to the COP secretariat — although the Germans are reportedly not excited about this idea). Ethiopia has apparently already locked in COP32.
For today, many eyes will be on California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other US sub-national leaders (as well as yours truly) who will be onstage at the Business Pavilion starting at 4:30 pm. See you there.