Between the slogan "Global Mutirao" and a growing rift between countries, the conference in Belem once again highlighted the gap between the urgency of the climate crisis and the lack of commitment to a phased cessation of fossil fuels, insufficient funding for vulnerable countries - and alongside new initiatives to protect rainforests and combat climate disinformation.
The recently concluded international climate conference (COP30) In Brazil The complexity of global efforts to tackle climate change has once again been revealed. Alongside calls for collaboration and new initiatives, the discussions in the Amazonian city of Belem highlighted the continuing gap between the urgent need for action and practical progress on the ground.
The conference presidency chose to use the phrase "MoּטִYarָאו "World", an expression originating from an indigenous language in Brazil and meaning "joint effort". According to the president of the conference, Andréa Correa do Lago, Speech Describes “a community working together towards a common goal. Whether it’s harvesting, building, or supporting another.” But it’s not certain that this conference will be remembered for the degree of cooperation it mobilized.
The decline The number of leaders attending climate conferences continues to decline; this year, about 60 leaders came to Berlin, compared to Last year's conference Which was attended by about 80 leaders. The peak of participation was in 2023 in Abu Dhabi, where about 150 leaders arrived. Israel was represented at this conference by only a small delegation. United States President Donald Trump did not attend the conference and did not send an official representative in his place, despite being the leader of the economy the big one In the world, a central player in international diplomacy and a factor without whom cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deal with the climate crisis would be incomplete. Trump is also Denial climate prominent, And in the media The World Health Organization even noted that his absence was preferable to his coming and disrupting the conference.
Without planning for the future
In preparation for the conference, it was published report A new UN report states that the pace at which countries are tackling the climate crisis is not fast enough compared to the goals set in"Paris Agreement"This is a historic agreement that aims to limit the increase in average global temperatures due to the climate crisis to 2 degrees Celsius or less (while striving not to exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold) compared to the situation before the industrial era. The agreement was signed at the climate conference a decade ago, and 196 countries, including Israel They declared their commitment to comply with it. Since then, the global warming threshold has been breached by 1.5 degrees Celsius for several consecutive months in the last two years.
At a conference in Brazil, dozens of countries, including Britain and Germany, called for a clear roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. This is an attempt to formulate a more binding work plan than the general declaration from the conference inDubai, which called for a start on phasing out the use of polluting fuels. In practice, there has been much criticism for not reaching theProgram ממשית to phase out fossil fuels at the current conference. "The final decision of the conference does not contain an explicit commitment to phase out the use of fossil fuels, after strong opposition from the world's major fossil fuel producers and allied blocs. The words 'fossil fuel' do not even appear in the final declaration of the conference," says Prof. Colin Price, from the Department of Geophysics at Tel Aviv University, head of the Climate Initiative at Tel Aviv University and member of the Climate Science and Technology Forum. Even UN representative Simon Steele, inHis speech At the end of the conference, he emphasized: "I understand the disappointment, I share a large part of it myself."
Another process that has been discussed over the years at climate conferences is the assistance of rich, industrialized countries – which have made a historic contribution to climate change – to poor countries that are at high risk as a result. The conference agreed thatamount The annual donation, 40 billion dollars, will double immediately and triple by 2035. However, according to report According to the UN, over $300 billion a year is needed to finance developing countries' adaptation to climate change. According to the report, the large gap in funding is endangering the lives of citizens and entire economies in developing countries. "The world's countries have agreed to significantly increase adaptation funding, with a political signal towards tripling support for vulnerable countries by 2035. Will this become a reality? Doubtful," says Price.
One of the main topics at the conference was protecting forests. Photo: unsplash
The importance of rainforests
Traditionally, each year at the conference, the host country chooses topics that will be the focus of the conference. This year Has chosen Brazil in protecting forests and supporting ecologically vulnerable areas. The conference itself was held near the rainforests, thus emphasizing their importance. forests They are home to more than 10 percent of terrestrial species, store carbon equivalent to 15–20 years of global carbon dioxide emissions, cool the planet, and contribute to moisture and rainfall in large areas of South America.
Therefore, Brazilian President da Silva initiated the establishment of fund to protect the tropics. The fund is expected to raise about $125 billion to help countries around the world protect their natural environment, forests, and indigenous communities. Most of the amount is expected to come from the private sector and a fifth of it from various countries. Among The donors The most prominent so far: Brazil, Indonesia, Germany, Norway, Portugal, France and the Netherlands.
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An important decision made at the conference was erection of a fund to combat climate disinformation. The fund will fund projects that promote The consensus the scientific, will protect researchers and journalists and confront critics and climate deniers. This is the first time that the issue of data reliability has been on the agenda at the climate conference. More than 10 countries, including Canada, France and Germany, have announced that they will join the initiative.
In conclusion, the climate conference in Brazil highlighted the challenges of international cooperation and the complexity of achieving broad consensus. Overcoming these challenges is essential to ensuring a better future for all the world's inhabitants, and what has been done so far is not enough.
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