Avantika Goswami

The country is powering the global energy transition, so why does its new climate pledge look so weak? Published on Summary

As COP30 approaches, the current cycle of voluntary climate pledges is facing a crisis of relevance; climate governance needs to be reinvented, especially for the Global South

As COP 30 approaches, the current cycle of voluntary climate pledges is facing a crisis of relevance; we ask experts to weigh in on how climate governance can be reinvented, especially for the Global South.

Global transition powered by record renewable deployment in China Published on Summary

A new report by GRAIN highlights the increasing use of free trade agreements by powerful economies like the US, EU, Japan, and the UAE to enforce strict intellectual property rules on seeds. These agreements threaten farmers' rights to save and reuse seeds, pushing countries, especially in the global South, to adopt restrictive UPOV 1991 standards, thereby accelerating corporate control over agriculture.

Roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels removed, language on finance & means of implementation of Just Transition Work Programme watered down

On the afternoon on November 22 in Belem, Brazil, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago gavelled the final outcomes at the end of the two-week-long climate summit. Among the highlights of the ‘package' of decisions adopted include a new mechanism on international cooperation for a just transition, language on tripling flows of adaptation finance by 2035, and a new work programme to scrutinise finance flows under Article 9 of the Paris Agreement. Notable in its absence is the reference to fossil fuels. However, this was referenced in a new process initiated by the Brazilian Presidency — two roadmaps on forests and transition away from fossil fuels.

India, Nov. 22 -- On the afternoon on November 22 in Belem, Brazil, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago gavelled the final outcomes at the end of the two-week-long climate summit.

Each year brings high expectations from the UN's climate summit—and rightly so. Each year the crisis deepens. This year the urgency has peaked, according to reports released ahead of the gathering of leaders, diplomats and negotiators in Belém, a Brazilian city on the edge of the Amazon, for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The World Meteorological Organization said 2025 is on track to be the second- or third-warmest year on record, extending an alarming run of exceptional temperatures. The UN Environment Programme's “Emissions Gap Report” warned that the world is heading for 2.8°C of warming and that global temperatures are likely to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next decade. Overshooting that threshold will unleash spiralling, unchecked climate impacts. COP30 acknowledged that more climate action is needed—then failed to provide it.

Green industrialisation is crucial for decarbonisation, yet climate talks lag in integrating it. As industrial policy reshapes pathways, COP processes risk irrelevance unless they adapt. The Belem Declaration highlights the need for multilateral efforts.