Anna Júlia Lopes*
The president of COP30, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, defended in a new letter released this Friday (20) the implementation of a global action agenda during the upcoming climate conference to be held in November in Belém. According to him, the first Global Stocktake (GST) defined in the Paris Agreement should serve as the “compass” for the agenda of all stakeholders — including, above all, civil society.
The GST is a process carried out every five years in which all countries present their climate targets and assess what the overall outcome would be if each nation meets its respective goal. According to Corrêa do Lago, this first GST will guide the collective efforts of COP participants to fulfill what was agreed upon in the Paris Agreement.
“As I’ve noted in my previous letters, despite remarkable achievements and progress, we are still off track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. To get back on course, the world must exponentially increase the scale and speed of its efforts to fulfill the commitments we’ve made,” wrote the president in his fourth letter.
To accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, Corrêa do Lago says that the COP30 Action Agenda must tackle three challenges:
- Align the agenda with what has already been agreed in previous COPs and in the Paris Agreement itself;
- Strengthen existing initiatives to accelerate and scale up climate implementation; and
- Encourage transparency, monitoring, and compliance with both new and existing commitments.
According to him, the COP30 Presidency has developed an action agenda that addresses these challenges, but with its focus on the future — so that, instead of merely complementing negotiations, the agenda actively implements the commitments made, with emphasis on the first GST of the Paris Agreement.
For Corrêa do Lago, the agenda should create a “collective motivation” for the full implementation of the GST, mobilizing all stakeholders to work alongside governments in support of global causes — such as halting deforestation and forest degradation by 2030.
In the letter, in addition to civil society — a sector that will be represented by André Guimarães, executive director of IPAM (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) — the president also highlights the involvement of businesses, financial institutions, cities and subnational authorities, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, youth, and research institutions. As in previous editions, Corrêa do Lago once again mentioned the creation of a “Global Task Force” to meet the agreed goals.
According to the president, stakeholders — both governmental and non-governmental — must work together to implement the Paris Agreement and the GST, rather than focusing solely on each country’s NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions). He emphasized the need for a “coordinated action” around the GST as a kind of “Global NDC,” which he called the world’s “globally determined contribution.”
“Using the GST as a reference, we can transform climate action — moving from cacophony to a well-orchestrated symphony, where multilateral negotiations set the tone, and the NDCs and Action Agenda provide the instruments,” he stated.
With a focus on global causes, the COP30 Presidency is proposing an action agenda structured around six thematic pillars. These are:
- Transition in the Energy, Industry, and Transport Sectors;
- Sustainable Management of Forests, Oceans, and Biodiversity;
- Transformation of Agriculture and Food Systems;
- Building Resilience in Cities, Infrastructure, and Water;
- Promotion of Human and Social Development; and
- Catalysts and Accelerators, including Finance, Technology, and Capacity Building.
In the document, Corrêa do Lago highlights that the agenda must be developed with flexibility and adaptability to different geographic, economic, and social contexts. According to him, the Presidency’s goal is to present a set of replicable actions within a framework that combines tailored solutions with a process that monitors global progress on climate issues.
*IPAM journalist, anna.rodrigues@ipam.org.br