Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 30th Conference of Parties (COP30) the “COP of truth,” aiming to restore public confidence in climate policy.1 A note regarding usage: Use of “UNFCCC” broadly covers the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement. Reference to, e.g., “the Convention” indicates that the reference, Parties, or activi-ties pertain exclusively to that convention and not the Paris Agreement. Reaching consensus outcome at COP30 was destined to be difficult, as the UNFCCC seeks to transition from decades of treaty negotiations toward a far greater focus on implementation. This task was made even harder given the wider context in which COP30 took place: extremely difficult and uncertain geopolitical conditions; the rise of populism in many countries, with climate action exploited as a divisive rather than unifying issue; increasingly severe and frequent global climate impacts; and a retreat from globalization and international cooperation, including reduced funding for international development and the United Nations. Many Parties’ expectations for the climate conference included a robust response, through a consensus outcome, to the gap on collective ambition and implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which were due in February 2025. Expectations also included a call for all countries who have not yet done so to come forward with new and more ambitious NDCs. Parties expected COP30 to deliver on its mandates, such as adopting the indicators for the global goal on adaptation (GGA), as well as taking decisions on just transition and the global stocktake (GST). They further anticipated that the outcome should send a strong signal on finance as well as acknowledge and celebrate all that has been achieved to date under the Paris Agreement, given its ten-year anniversary. Despite high temperatures, flooding from heavy thunderstorms, a violent protest, and even a fire in the conference venue, Parties in Belém, Brazil, concluded the COP by adopting a “Belém Political Package.”2“Belém Political Package,” UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, accessed January 5, 2026, https://unfccc.int/cop30/belem-political-package. This outcome was notable given the challenging geopolitical conditions, including the absence of the United States delegation for the first time since the UNFCCC was adopted in 1992. The final day of COP30 ended after nearly 24 hours of continuous closed-door negotiations when Parties reached hard-fought compromises to adopt the decision on the “Global Mutirão: Uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change.” Mutirão is “a traditional knowledge inherited by the Brazilian society and born from cooperation.”3André Aranha Correa do Lago, “Eleventh Letter from the Presidency,” COP30, November 17, 2025, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/20251117_Letter_COP30_President.pdf.  The decision was the key consensus political outcome from COP30 and the headline decision for the Belém Political Package. The most contentious issues in reaching agreement on the Global Mutirão decision related to the COP30 response to the ambition of Parties’ NDCs, as well as issues of trade and finance. Key elements of the Belém Political Package comprise: The “Global Mutirão” decision, which includes emphasis on the important role of multilateralism and synergies with other regimes in the context of sustainable development celebration of the Paris Agreement’s achievements on the occasion of its 10-year anniversary an expression of “hope that the Agreement will once again enjoy near universality” acknowledgement that “the Paris Agreement is working” and a resolution “to go further and faster” recognition of the need to accelerate implementation of domestic mitigation measures encouragement for Parties to align their NDCs with net zero by or around mid-century an invitation for Parties to develop implementation and investment plans for their NDCs a “Global Implementation Accelerator” to accelerate implementation across all actors to keep 1.5 degrees C within reach and to support countries in implementing their NDCs and national adaptation plans (NAPs) recognition of the efforts of the Climate High-Level Champions in providing continuity through their work—such as the launch of the Global Climate Action Agenda five-year plan that thematically aligns with the targets and signals from the first global stocktake the launch of the “Belém Mission to 1.5” to enable implementation in NDCs and NAPs and to reflect on accelerating the implementation, international cooperation, and investments in NDC and NAP plans a call for efforts to triple adaptation finance by 2035 to support vulnerable countries a two-year work program to discuss climate finance, including the predictability of public resources from developed countries a three-year dialogue to consider challenges and barriers in relation to enhancing international cooperation related to the role of trade agreement to develop a just transition mechanism under the Just Transition Work Programme a decision on the global stocktake that launches the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Dialogue on implementing the outcomes of the global stocktake and sets out responsibilities for refining the second global stocktake the extension of a dialogue on Article 2.1(c)—the dialogue calls for making finance flows consistent with a pathway toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development and its complementarity with Article 9 a nine-year Belém Technology Implementation Programme a global goal on adaptation package that included: adopted indicators; modalities for the Baku Adaptation Roadmap; and a call to launch a two-year Belém-Addis vision on adaptation to operationalize the indicators a decision on the mitigation work program that sends key messages from its global dialogues and investment focused events on forests and the waste sector, including circular economy approaches a nine-year Belém Gender Action Plan conclusion of the third review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage. Other key outcomes from COP30 include: the end of the first full cycle under the Enhanced Transparency Framework through the Facilitative, Multilateral Consideration of Progress (FMCP), which reviews Parties’ climate progress reports publication of the Global Climate Action Agenda at COP30 Outcomes Report and Yearbook of Global Climate Action 2025, reflecting the work of the Global Climate Action Agenda publication of the final “Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T” report on the process that aims to scale up public and private finance to U.S. $1.3 trillion for developing countries more than 80 countries joined the Mutirão Call for a Fossil Fuel Roadmap to advance the commitment to transition away from fossil fuels set out in the COP28 global stocktake decision launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), which will compensate countries for preserving tropical forests. In addition to the formal outcome, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago announced in the final plenary that he would support work on two roadmaps under the Presidency’s responsibility: one on halting and reversing deforestation and a second on transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly, and equitable manner. 4Felipe de Carvalho, “Belém COP30 delivers climate finance boost and a pledge to plan fossil fuel transition,” UN News, November 22, 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166433. He also welcomed Colombia’s April 2026 summit on fossil fuel phase-out, noting that the future COP30 Presidency roadmaps could build on its outcomes. It was decided that COP31 will take place in Türkiye. In an unprecedented arrangement, Türkiye will be “COP31 President” and Australia the “President of Negotiations.”5“Türkiye-Australia Partnership Modalities,” UNFCCC, accessed December 8, 2025, https:// unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/20251121_COP31_Presidency_Modalities-CLEAN-AGREED. pdf. Therefore, while physically hosted in the city of Antalya, Türkiye, Australia will lead the negotiations; at the same time, Türkiye will lead and manage the action agenda. The Pacific Islands are expected to host the Pre-COP, the preparatory event for COP31.