World leaders are gathering in the home of the Amazon rainforest for the start of the COP30 climate conference.
Climate action — including implementing and adapting solutions to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions — is among the top goals of this year’s conference.
Brazil will be hosting the conference
What is COP30?
COP30 is short for the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COPs are annual meetings where countries, non-governmental organizations and other interested parties discuss global efforts to combat human-induced climate change and negotiate agreements on topics, such as mitigation, financing and adaptation. The UNFCCC is one of the largest multilateral bodies in the U.N. system.
This year’s conference is being held in Belém, Brazil, known as the “gateway” to the Amazon rainforest, and is taking place 10 years after the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted by 195 countries during COP21 in December 2015.
The conference is being led by COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago, Brazil’s vice minister for climate, energy and environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among those scheduled to attend are government leaders and ministers, diplomats, U.N. representatives, scientists, business leaders and non-governmental organizations across the globe.
COP30 leadership is calling the conference a “Global Mutirão for Sustainability,” meaning a “collective effort” with shared outcomes guided by cooperation.
When will COP30 take place?
COP30 is scheduled to begin on Monday, Nov. 10, and conclude on Friday, Nov. 21. However, as previous conferences have shown, final negotiations can sometimes extend beyond the official schedule.
Who will be attending COP30?
Nearly 200 countries participate in the UNFCCC, and most attend the COP annually. However, this year an official U.S. delegation will not be present, according to the White House.
“The U.S. is not sending any high level representatives to COP30,” a White House official told ABC News. “The president is directly engaging with leaders around the world on energy issues, which you can see from the historic trade deals and peace deals that all have a significant focus on energy partnerships.”
On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order announcing that the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement for the second time. The withdrawal will become official on Jan. 27, 2026.
The ongoing U.S. government shutdown is also preventing federal lawmakers from attending the conference. While federal U.S. representation will be absent from COP30, state and local leaders from across the country will be attending.
A U.S. delegation of more than 100 leaders will participate in COP30, including U.S. governors, mayors and other top city and state officials.
The delegation includes Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego.
