Belém (PA), November 17, 2025 – Negotiations at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) reached their decisive point in Belém, with the opening of the High-Level Segment and the arrival of ministers. Representatives of the People’s Summit are now acting within the official space to enforce the declaration approved by the movements and organizations. At the opening, Maureen Santos and Rud Rafael, from Fase and MTST, respectively, presented the Summit’s shirt to the Vice President of Brazil, Geraldo Alckmin, as a way to further highlight the struggle.
While outside the COP, in the autonomous space of the People’s Summit, there was strong pressure from the streets, inside the Conference, the moment is marked by urgent appeals for countries to make concrete progress and by the historical pressure from social movements demanding that the results prioritize popular justice and address the systemic causes of the crisis.
Call for Immediate Action and an End to Obstructions
The High-Level segment began with a clear call for accountability. The UN Executive Secretary for Climate Change, Simon Stiell, emphasized the negotiators’ deep awareness of what is at stake. He was emphatic in warning that “there is no time to lose with tactical delays or obstructions,” requesting that the most complex issues be resolved without postponement.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, reinforced that the money needed for climate action exists, but needs to be redirected. She highlighted that, in the last year, developing nations disbursed approximately US$1.4 trillion in external debt servicing, an amount that could be vitally applied to mitigation, resilience, and clean energy. This reinforces the call for debt cancellation for developing countries.
Transition from Negotiation to Implementation
Brazil, as host country and president of COP30, advocated that the event initiate a new global phase: the transition from a negotiation regime to an implementation regime, and with it, the commitment to fulfilling the established goals.
The president of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, informed that the negotiation agenda will be extended, including evening sessions, to finalize two packages of essential decisions.
PEOPLE’S SUMMIT: Democratic pressure for justice
Outside the walls of the official conference, the People’s Summit — considered the largest ever held, with more than 25,000 participants and a march that brought together more than 70,000 people — formalized its demands.
A popular declaration, the result of four days of debates, was delivered to Brazilian leaders, including the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, and the president of COP30, André Corrêa do Lago.
Maureen Santos stated that the event demonstrated an example of democracy and multilateralism, giving visibility to the groups most impacted by the crisis, who are also the ones bringing the alternatives.
The main popular demands include debt-free financing, concern about how climate finance is being discussed, warning of the risk of generating new “ecological debts” for the Global South; an expanded just transition with the need to broaden the debate on just transition, beyond just renewable energies, incorporating crucial themes such as food sovereignty, territorial rights and working conditions.
PAA is healthy food
During the parallel event, groups such as the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST), with the support of the Popular Peasant Movement (MCP), the National Agroecology Network (ANA) and the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), set up a logistical operation that ensured that the food for the registered delegations was, in itself, a political statement in favor of family farming, traditional peoples and a just agroecological transition.
Together, they organized a “solidarity kitchen” that provided more than 300,000 free meals, focusing on agroecological products and Amazonian cuisine, reinforcing the message of hope and resilience. They also secured the largest consolidated plan ever implemented under the Food Acquisition Policy (PAA).