COP 30: Major topics for deliberation and contentious issues 

Welcome to our 2nd in a series of four communications that we hope will support your participation in the of the Conference of the Parties, COP 30. This entry focuses on major topics for deliberation and contentious issues. 

The Brazilian planners of COP 30 have made it clear in many ways that their aim is to move COP 30 from formal negotiations to concrete action. Their hope is to focus on practical steps to reach agreed upon goals.  It fell to the planners of COP 30 to implement the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake (GST – review of progress). The Paris Agreement (COP 21, 2015) mandated this process and the 1^st review took place at COP 28 (2023).  The results of the evaluation said that the world was really going to have to take giant steps to move towards meeting the Paris Agreement goals. COP 30’s primary responsibility is to work towards addressing the short falls thus it is no surprise that concrete action is the focus.  (to learn more about the results of the 1^st GST, CLICK HERE.)

COP 30 planners created their Action Agenda by taking the results of the 1^st GST and turning them into actionable items.  This Agenda created a framework for achieving goals to help mobilize all the stakeholders. Topics include:

1. Speeding up the transition to renewable and low-emissions technologies:
2. Halting and decreasing deforestation, conserve ecosystems, and protecting oceans;
3. Promoting regenerative agriculture and equitable food systems;
4. Developing resilience in urban areas especially around infrastructure & water:
5. Developing environments for humans that support thriving and ensure fair and sustainable outcomes for communities;
6. Maximizing the finance, technology, and capacity building sectors so that investments are to the benefit of all. 

To come anywhere near meeting these Action Items requires dealing with a whole array of contentious issues including:

1. Ending finance driven forest destruction;
2. Paying tropical forest countries to protect their forests;
3. Significantly increasing the 1.3 trillion annually goal set at COP 29 as New Collective Qualified Goal (NCQG) to a much higher level to meet the need;
4. Revise National Determined Contributions (NDCs) to reduce greenhouse gases more in line with those who are primarily responsible.

All of these have aspects that could be contentious but issues that could be even more contentious include:

1. Who should pay and how much? Developing vs. developed countries;
2. How much should developed countries actually be held accountable for rather than depending on philanthropic contributions to pay their share;
3. How much influence will the voices of Indigenous and frontline people have in determining the outcomes of COP 30?
4. Opposition to global taxes on specific sectors i.e. travel;
5. The inequity of developing countries going further in debt to meet climate transition needs;
6. Ending fossil fuel influence on addressing climate crisis;
7. Transparency with in the COP organization;
8. Dealing with host countries being major players in fossil fuel industry;
9. Many issues around NDC’s including influence of the far right;
10. Cascading impact of US withdrawal from Paris Agreement;

Will COP 30 be able to seize the moment?