COP30 in Belém, Brazil

Slow Progress in the Fight Against Climate Change

Abstract

This study examines the evolution and limitations of international climate governance in light of COP30 held in Belém, Brazil, highlighting the strategic relevance of the Amazon region and Brazil’s positioning as a regional actor within the international climate regime. The central problem addressed is the persistent gap between multilateral commitments and their translation into effective action, particularly regarding mitigation and the progressive reduction of fossil fuels, despite scientific urgency and growing social demands. The purpose of the article is to assess the advances and limits of the international climate architecture after COP30, with a focus on mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and governance, from a liberal institutionalist perspective. Methodologically, the study adopts a descriptive and normative approach that reviews the historical evolution of the Conferences of the Parties, analyzes the Paris Agreement with the Belém Package, and examines the main negotiation outcomes of COP30.

The findings indicate significant progress in adaptation, reflected in the strengthening of global indicators and increased financial commitments, as well as notable advances in forest protection and the formal recognition of Indigenous peoples’ role in climate governance. However, mitigation remains largely stalled due to the absence of binding commitments and the opposition of countries with strategic energy interests, while climate finance continues to be insufficient and unevenly distributed. The study concludes that the international climate architecture has proven more effective in adaptation than in mitigation, not as a failure of multilateralism, but as an expression of its structural limits. From a liberal institutionalist perspective, climate governance advances incrementally, constrained by state sovereignty and consensus-based decision-making, which helps explain the slow pace of progress in addressing climate change and underscores the need for a more ambitious institutional evolution.