ABrazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has urged world leaders to confront “fake news” and defeat climate denialism as the UN’s COP30 climate conference opened in Belém, Brazil. Delivering a forceful address, Lula warned that misinformation and the rejection of scientific evidence threaten global climate progress.
Speaking before delegates gathered on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, Lula made pointed—though indirect—references to US President Donald Trump, who in September dismissed climate change as “a con job.” Lula said powerful actors “control the algorithms, sow hatred and spread fear,” declaring: “It’s time to inflict a new defeat on the deniers.”
The conference begins amid heightened political tensions, with the US sending no senior officials. Trump’s administration has committed billions to expanding fossil fuel production while cancelling more than $13bn earmarked for renewable energy. The shift puts the US at odds with most nations still seeking to cut emissions and invest in green energy solutions.
Belém, a city of 1.5 million on the Amazon’s edge, welcomed thousands of delegates on Monday. Some arrived from cruise ships and temporary container accommodations. Indigenous Guajajara performers opened the session with a traditional song and dance.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell initially highlighted the decade’s progress in reducing heat-trapping emissions but warned that political disputes threaten future gains. “Not one single nation among you can afford this,” he said. “Climate disasters rip double-digits off GDP.”
Brazil is using its COP presidency to push for advances on longstanding climate commitments—including moving away from fossil fuels, securing climate finance for vulnerable nations, and strengthening protections for nature.
At the center of Lula’s agenda is the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), a proposed $125bn fund to safeguard global tropical forests. Fundraising began slowly after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer withdrew public funding last week, though UK climate envoy Rachel Kyte told the BBC on Monday that the UK “will make the investment at some point.”
Following tense negotiations, countries agreed on the conference agenda, which includes addressing whether the world can still realistically meet the 1.5°C warming limit. The Alliance of Small Island States insisted the target remain central, even as the UN recently suggested overshooting 1.5°C may now be “inevitable.”
UN Secretary General António Guterres delivered a stark warning last week, calling the world’s failure to stay within the temperature threshold “a moral failure and deadly negligence.”
