The Brazilian government is preparing a strategy for the Climate Conference to begin a new phase in the implementation of actions that are a consensus among countries.
The presidency of COP 30 announced on the morning of Friday (20th), during the UN Climate Meeting (SB62) in Bonn, Germany, a strategy to “take off the paper” measures that are already consensual among countries. The topic is the subject of the 4th presidential letter, presented during a press conference attended by Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, president of COP 30; Ana Toni, executive director of COP 30; and the COP Champions, Nigar Ardaparai (COP 29) and Dan Ioschpe (COP 30).
Traditionally, at the conferences, besides negotiations among governments, there are country or UN organization pavilions that prepare agendas of side events to discuss various topics related to climate change. In Belém, besides these, the idea is to have thematic pavilions corresponding to consensuses already reached among the signatories of the Paris Agreement.
Besides a new dynamic among countries, the idea is to create more opportunities for the involvement of “non-negotiating” COP participants (private sector and civil society representatives) and also for the exhibition and sharing of Brazilian solutions to address the climate crisis, such as actions led by Itaipu Binacional.
As Corrêa do Lago explained, the themes were defined based on the Global Stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement, carried out at COP 28 in Dubai. There are five main themes: Energy, Industry and Transport; Forests, Oceans and Biodiversity; Transformation in Agriculture and Agricultural Systems; Resilience of Cities, Infrastructure and Water; and Human and Social Development. And a sixth theme that is transversal to the others: Finance, Technology and Capacity Building.
“Since the GST was approved by consensus, we took these elements and tried to associate them. The idea is that each pavilion will have 70 events (seven events per day over the 10 days of programming),” said Corrêa do Lago.
With this new dynamic among countries, the Brazilian government’s idea is to leave COP 30 with an “action agenda,” which will have three main aspects: supporting negotiators; enabling deliverables; and monitoring progress. “I believe this will be very well received. First, from a political standpoint. Brazil is saying, if we all agree these are priorities, then let’s implement them. And how do we do that? I believe these debates will bring much of the answer on how we will get there,” added the ambassador.
“In reality, we already have an action agenda since COP 21 (the Paris Agreement),” explained Ana Toni. “We know we need to reforest, increase energy efficiency, and use renewable sources, but we need to see case by case if progress is being made. If not, why? Is it a matter of financing, regulation, capacity building? We want to have an agenda to solve these bottlenecks,” added the COP 30 CEO.
Good examples
Among the solutions Brazil will present at COP 30 are initiatives led by Itaipu Binacional in 434 municipalities in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, which contribute to reducing environmental and social impacts and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to Coordination Director Carlos Carboni, who represents Itaipu at SB62, Itaipu acts in the territory with the goal of ensuring water for hydroelectric production but with a focus on people. “What is at stake is not the planet. It’s us,” he summarized.
The head of the Brasília office and coordinator of the binational agenda at SB62, Lígia Leite Soares, highlighted the main results obtained with these actions, such as the recovery and protection of 9,000 water springs; technical assistance for sustainable rural production for 7,000 farming families; structuring of selective waste collection and the recycling chain in 255 municipalities, benefiting 4,000 waste pickers; research and innovation in other renewable sources such as biogas, floating photovoltaic solar, hydrogen, and sustainable aviation fuel; as well as the maintenance of over 100,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest around the reservoir.
“Itaipu has been contributing to the federal government for the organization of COP in Belém not only from a logistical point of view but also in the discussion of topics and sharing of climate solutions,” she concluded.
