Who Are the Major Players at Cop30 and What Do They Want?

November 10, 2025

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by Fiona Harvey (The Guardian) Delegates from global giants and smaller nations expected to clash at Brazilian summit over how to tackle the climate crisis and who should pay

The UN’s Cop30 climate conference is under way, with negotiators, diplomats and leaders from around the world in Belém, Brazil, to discuss how to handle the climate crisis.

Who are the big players, and what do they want?

Brazil

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To that end, his (Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's) flagship project is the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a projected $125bn (£95bn) fund that would enable governments and local communities to keep their forests standing instead of exploiting them for short-term gains.

The start of the TFFF has been rocky – the UK has decided not to contribute, for now at least, and other countries have given less than was hoped. But if the project can get off the ground it could be a vital lifeline for forested communities around the world.

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The US

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What is more concerning for participants is that the US president may try to wreak havoc from afar. At recent meetings of the International Maritime Organization, dealing with a potential carbon levy on shipping and a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, the US used tactics of “bullying and intimidation”, according to many countries present. Delegates received threatening phone calls and emails and were told if they voted for the proposals retaliation would extend not just to trade measures such as tariffs but would also target individuals, for instance through visa revocations.

Participants told the Guardian the situation was unprecedented and shocking. It was also effective – the carbon levy, which had been agreed at a meeting in April, was in October unexpectedly put off for a year as some delegates switched position. The delay gives the US the opportunity to work further on small countries involved.

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China

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A glance at its real economy shows renewable energy is speeding ahead, accounting for more than half of the country’s generating capacity and more than a third of its energy consumption.

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India

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India maintains that the developed world must pay for tackling the climate crisis and that poor countries should be allowed to continue to use fossil fuels for their economic development.

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It is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, which makes up nearly half of installed capacity.

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The EU

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The row shows the extent to which the rightwing political backlash against climate action is rattling the bloc.

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The Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis)

Small island states play an outsize role at Cops, acting as the moral conscience of the world, reminding rich countries of their obligations and big emitters of their responsibilities. They were a major force behind the Paris agreement and are bitterly disappointed to see that the fulfilment of the 2015 treaty seems far away, as temperatures creep up beyond the 1.5C threshold.

They will aim to hold all countries – big and small, rich and poor – to their collective obligations and promises.

They now have powerful legal backing: the small Pacific island of Vanuatu led a challenge that resulted in judges at the international court of justice ruling that countries must protect the climate from harm and that greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of that harm.

The full implications of this decision have yet to be felt, but Aosis will come to Cop determined to see it is enforced. Another key issue for the islands is the “transition away from fossil fuels”, agreed at Cop28 in Dubai, but the subject of fierce opposition and backsliding last year. Brazil has been wary of finding space on the agenda for this to be discussed but Aosis and its allies will want to see clear progress.

NDCs are also in their sights and Aosis wants to ensure a clear path can be found to remedy their inadequacies.

Least developed countries (LDCs)

The world’s least developed countries are the ones with most difficulty at this Cop – even just the logistics of funding a delegation to come to Belém and brave the extortionate cost of accommodation have proved too much for some. Many LDC delegations have been small and poorly funded in the past but this year is proving more challenging than usual.

For the LDCs, last year was a key Cop, as it was the first time the UN framework convention on climate change had properly discussed climate finance for the poor world. While the outcome was a disappointment to many, they still have high hopes that new forms of climate finance can be found to help them lift their people out of poverty without suffering the blight of fossil fuels. Many members of the grouping are also suffering under high debt burdens, so ways to lift this are essential – for instance through mechanisms known as “debt for climate swaps” as well as more traditional grants under climate finance.

The Baku to Belém roadmap, a blueprint for climate finance published on the eve of Cop30, will be key to LDC demands. They want to see climate finance turned from the vague promises of last year to the beginnings of a firm funding programme. READ MORE