The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) officially opened today in Belém, Brazil, marked by strong messages of unity, inclusion, and determination to accelerate people-centred climate action.
In his remarks at the opening press conference, the UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell called for urgent acceleration in climate action, reminding delegates that progress is real, but not yet enough.
“Every year I’m asked how I feel about the COP. And the answer is that I am determined,” Stiell began. “Andre and I, and all our teams, are determined to have a COP that takes another major step forward.”
Stiell noted that recent updates to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) show emissions are projected to fall by 12% by 2035, marking the first time global emissions are bending downward. “That’s a big deal,” he said. “Every fraction of a degree of heating avoided will save millions of lives and billions of dollars in climate damage.”
He credited market forces and renewable energy innovation for driving the shift, pointing out that renewables are now cheaper than 90% of fossil fuels and have overtaken coal as the world’s top energy source. “Policies once unthinkable are now rippling through markets, and change is becoming unstoppable. “Climate action is the greatest economic opportunity of this century,” Stiell said.
However, he cautioned against complacency, referencing recent extreme weather events — including super-typhoons in Asia and Hurricane Melissa — as reminders of the growing cost of delay. “Global heating is already dealing some devastating blows, in every country,” he warned.
Stiell emphasised that climate negotiations must remain people-centred. “This COP process is ultimately about people,” he said. “They may not follow every negotiation, but they feel the consequences — in food prices, insurance costs, and energy bills that rise with every drought, flood, storm, and heatwave.”
Reaffirming his commitment to work closely with the COP30 Presidency, Stiell concluded with a rallying message: “We’ve built the engine. Paris is working to take us forward. Now it’s time to hit the accelerator for people, prosperity, and the planet.”
Also, COP30 President, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, commended the collective efforts of delegates from across the world and how conversations at COP will address the climate issues that matter most.
“This agreement, I believe, is going to not only allow us to start working today already very intensively, but it will also allow us to explain to the world why these additional issues that have been raised really matter,” he said.