A climate conference in the heart of the Amazon
From November 10 to 21, 2025, Brazil hosted COP30 in Belém, a city in the heart of the Amazon. This 30th UN Climate Change Conference brought together 194 countries with a clear goal: to move from words to action in implementing the Paris Agreement. Discussions were to focus on the protection of tropical forests, oceans, and above all, the issue of climate finance.
But behind these good intentions, COP30 revealed a much more complex reality. Indeed, a new balance of global power has emerged, where Europe is no longer alone in dictating the rules of the game.
Europe divided even before the start
Imagine going into negotiations without agreeing with your own teammates. That is exactly what happened to the European Union. Even before arriving in Brazil, the 27 Member States were at odds over their climate targets for 2035–2040.
On the one hand, the European Commission proposed reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 (compared to 1990 levels). On the other hand, countries such as Poland, Italy, and Hungary were holding back, concerned about their already fragile industries. Meanwhile, Spain and the Nordic countries were calling for even more ambitious targets.
The result? Europe arrived in Belém with an unclear voice and damaged credibility.
A mixed agreement
The European objective was to obtain a concrete plan to phase out fossil fuels. Unfortunately, a simple minimal compromise disappointed many people.
The final text does not propose a clear roadmap for abandoning oil, gas, and coal. Yet more than 80 countries, including Brazil and the EU, were pushing for this. But faced with resistance from oil-producing countries and emerging countries (led by China), the agreement merely reiterates the COP28 commitments without going any further.
What was saved:
- Aid for climate adaptation in developing countries will triple by 2035, reaching $120 billion per year.
- A new dialogue on the link between global trade and climate will be opened for the next three years.
- Global climate finance is set at $300 billion.
European negotiators themselves admit that they would have liked more. But rather than a total failure that would have paralyzed international cooperation, they preferred to accept this minimalist text.
A lesson in geopolitics
For the European Union, COP30 was a real wake-up call. German Climate Minister Carsten Schneider spoke of a “new world order” in climate matters. And he is not wrong. Let’s look at some of the other actors:
-> The United States? Absent.
Their withdrawal left the field open to Saudi Arabia and its allies, who were accused of disrupting the negotiations.
-> Brazil? Conciliatory with the BRICS.
Europe was hoping for a strong ally, but the host country preferred to spare its partners from emerging countries. One European negotiator admitted frankly: “We underestimated the BRICS and overestimated our own weight and the cohesion of our partners.”
-> Small island states? Surprisingly silent.
These nations, threatened by rising sea levels and usually vocal on climate issues, had less influence than expected.
Why does this concern us?
COP30 reveals how the world is reorganizing before our eyes. Europe, long a leader on environmental issues, is discovering that it is no longer alone in setting the global agenda.
The ecological transition will not happen without compromise and alliances. And for us, young Europeans, it is our future that is at stake in these summits. A future in which Europe will have to learn to navigate a more complex, more fragmented world, but one in which every voice counts even more than before.