By Marina Grossi*

COP30 will go down in history for a number of reasons. Delivering results against a backdrop of a turbulent and fragmented geopolitical landscape was no easy task, but the fact is that Belém marks a decisive turning point in accelerating global climate action. The conference consolidated the transition from ambition to implementation, with two complementary movements. On the one hand, the negotiation process among the nearly 198 countries that are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which generated its own progress. On the other hand, the unprecedented scale of the Action Agenda, which gained density and visibility in Belém, with the contribution of nearly 500 initiatives and more than 100 Solutions Acceleration Plans (SAPs), covering topics such as biofuels, regenerative agriculture, forest restoration, green industry, and clean energy.

On the negotiation agenda, the main outcomes of COP30 that deserve highlighting are the concrete deliverables in the field of climate finance, such as the Baku-Bethlehem Roadmap for the US$1.3 trillion target, aimed at mobilizing resources for the transition of developing countries. There was unprecedented progress in adaptation to climate change, with countries reaching a consensus on the adoption of 59 voluntary indicators, creating a framework for projects of this type, as well as a commitment to triple adaptation funding, aiming to reach US$120 billion by 2025.

In the field of energy transition, the main novelty was the proposal, brought by the Brazilian government and embraced by the COP30 Presidency, for a Roadmap aligned with the Dubai Consensus to guide the transition away from fossil fuels. Despite facing strong opposition from both oil-producing countries and major consumers of fossil fuels, the idea was left out of the final text, but was embraced by 82 countries and gained a parallel process, with the COP Presidency promising a roadmap by COP31. This direction emphasizes a just, equitable, and progressive transition, anticipating pressure for regulatory and sectoral adjustments, in order to put the world on a path to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, responsible for approximately 751 TPL3 of global greenhouse gas emissions.

COP30 also highlighted the importance of new large-scale mechanisms aimed at forest conservation based on blended finance, The main initiative is the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), proposed by Brazil and considered innovative for directing part of the... spread Banking investments in fixed income for conservation. Also in the field of climate finance, initiatives were launched at COP30 to harmonize parameters in carbon markets and taxonomy, which directly relate to Brazilian efforts in regulating these two issues. 

But the highlight of COP30 was undoubtedly the Action Agenda. This body was created within the framework of the Paris Agreement as a point of contact between what is discussed in the COP plenary sessions and the rest of society, and it has become a key element in mobilizing civil society, subnational governments, academia, and the business sector. By reshaping and giving new weight to the mechanism, the COP30 Presidency allowed the Action Agenda to achieve unprecedented scale and robustness. Thus, these actors now share responsibility for achieving climate goals, alongside governments. 

In other words: while the Negotiation Agenda operates through formal consensus among the 198 countries of the Climate Convention, the Action Agenda mobilizes actors to transform ambition into concrete actions. And that is where its great capacity for mobilization and transformation lies. The COP30 Presidency structured the Action Agenda into six axes and 30 key objectives, which gave rise to 117 Plans for Accelerating Solutions (PAS). These encompass the decarbonization of industry, especially in sectors where reducing emissions is more difficult, such as cement and steelmaking; efforts to triple the supply of renewable energy; and the launch of the Belém Health Action Plan, which aims to contain diseases that are expected to increase due to climate change, such as those transmitted by mosquitoes.

The motto of accelerating climate solutions resonates with initiatives from the business sector, which arrived at COP30 with a robust set of actions. For the first time, Brazil presented detailed and scalable sectoral plans for decarbonization by 2050, the result of four strategic coalitions (Transport, Electricity, Agriculture, and Essential Minerals) articulated by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS). The movement brought together approximately 270 companies and organizations that, in a convergent manner, developed maps for mitigating climate change in their sectors, contributing to the Climate Plan and leaving a real legacy of continuity, going beyond the realm of debate. This is, without a doubt, the largest business movement for climate implementation ever built in Brazil.

Another contribution came in the presentation of viable solutions to combat the climate crisis. Brasil de Soluções, a collection of practices from companies associated with CEBDS, brought together 135 projects with high social and environmental impact across 18 sectors of the economy. This living bank of sustainable and scalable practices seeks to inspire strategic partnerships between companies, as well as map funding opportunities, bringing projects and investors closer together. This initiative was joined by CASE (Climate, Action, Solutions and Engagement) and SB COP (Sustainable Business COP30), resulting in the joint delivery of a compilation of 800 mapped initiatives, with 144 pre-selected and addressed to the COP30 Presidency. This collaboration creates a cooperative environment that accelerates and promotes the adoption of best practices in value chains.

COP30 therefore demonstrated that companies are already transforming ambition into results: investing, innovating, and scaling solutions with a positive impact that support Brazilian and global goals. The foundations for the next decade of action were laid, despite the lack of consensus among countries on some key issues to accelerate the response to the numerous impacts of the climate crisis. The conference renewed the ambition for 1.5°C, while also recognizing the global governance challenge for achieving the primary objective of the Paris Agreement. The business sector emerges from Belém ready to lead the implementation process, with a concrete vision of its crucial role in the transition to a new economy. 

* Marina Grossi is president of CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), an organization with 28 years of experience and 120 large associated companies, Special Envoy of the COP30 Presidency for the Business Sector