COP30 in Brazil: Time to Turn Ambition into Action Through Public-Private Collaboration
More than 30 years after hosting the Earth Summit1 in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, Brazil will be at the forefront of the global climate debate once again as the host of COP30 in November 2025. The stakes are even higher this time, as Brazil must lead the charge in building consensus around ambitious global actions to address an environmental crisis that demands immediate attention – not just setting long-term goals.
To make matters more complex, the global delegates meeting in Belém do Pará will have the backdrop of heightened geopolitical dissonance and economic uncertainty, which already hindered potential environmental agreements stemming from the G20 presided by Brazil in 2024.
Will Brazil live up to the expectation of presiding over a turnaround COP, as President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged?
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A Test of Brazil’s Protagonism and Ability as a Mediator
Brazil is uniquely positioned to exert global influence to lead the world towards the achievement of ambitious climate targets, bridge gaps in technology transfer and promote climate financing. As the steward of 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest—a critical carbon sink scientists warn may reach a tipping point by 2050— Brazil holds an unparalleled responsibility in the fight against climate change.2 The country also has immense potential to scale nature-based solutions to reduce CO2 emissions and meet the country’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution.3
But the underwhelming results delivered by COP29 last year, focused on financing measures and emissions mitigation, underscore how frail global commitment to tackling the climate emergency remains.4, At a time when the average global temperature has surpassed the 1.5°C (34.7°F) threshold for the first time in 2024, Brazil faces significant hurdles to drive consensus on a clear and actionable roadmap.5 These include dealing with its own policy contradictions, forge political alliances and foster public-private collaboration – offering a great opportunity for companies in different sectors to help turn ambitions into action.
Brazilian government representatives have said that the country will aim to ‘lead by example’, addressing internal misalignments that could obstruct the approval of critical environmental policies, balancing agribusiness demands, maintaining crude oil as its main export and bridging the priorities articulated in past multilateral forums. Still, Brazil’s success will depend on its ability to demonstrate that being a major oil producer and exporter while championing clean-energy projects, implementing nature-based solutions, and advancing carbon offset initiatives, are not mutually exclusive but rather a realistic and sustainable path forward.
It will also depend on Brazil’s ability to navigate the complex bilateral relationship that is expected to play-out with the United States during the next four years of the Trump administration. The U.S. president has pledged to end what he calls the “green new scam” by sweeping offshore wind projects and abandoning the Paris Agreement once again.6,7 This has raised concerns within the Brazilian government that Trump’s climate policies could lead to lower U.S. engagement at COP30 – or worse, outright boycotts that could undermine the summit’s outcomes entirely.8
Environmentalists see Brazil’s task at COP30 as daunting. Nevertheless, government officials remain positive that the country will be able to, at least, reach a baseline agreement for fair and transparent global finance mechanisms for developing countries to access the US$300 billion pledged at COP29, and rebuild confidence among nations to create a well-founded roadmap to scale up climate financing to the US$1.3 trillion recommended by climate financing specialists at COP29.9
Companies Have an Instrumental Role in Driving Real Change
As highlighted in the 2024 Emissions Gap, “ambition means nothing without action”. Whether through the G20, the World Economic Forum or the COPs, businesses have a clear opportunity to engage with policymakers and influence environmental frameworks that allow for scaling climate action in a realistic, doable way. WBCSD’s recent Business Breakthrough Barometer shows 91 percent of executives view the transition to a green economy as an opportunity, with 90 percent stating they would invest more if governments implemented policies that tackle sector-specific barriers.
To that point, COP30 can provide businesses with the chance to evolve from passive observes to real drivers of change. By establishing long-term relationships with key government officials, rather than short-lived PR stunts during the event, companies will be able to leverage those connections during COP to influence policies and be part of the solution through public and private collaboration, as well as continue to shape the climate agenda for years to come as the climate emergency will continue to be a priority.
Seize Opportunities While Avoide Reputational Risks
As governments move to reach consensus, despite the hurdles, companies have the opportunity to exert a complementary role to ensure results at COP30. While the event will mainly revolve around government negotiations on climate action, companies can leverage this platform to influence policies and regulations, elevate their leadership on climate-related issues, set industry benchmarks, and establish key strategic partnerships. It’s critically important that companies should keep in mind that COP is a forum for global environmental action, not a place for corporate/brand promotion. Many influential participants are also watchdogs for what can be construed as self-serving, shallow virtue signaling or greenwashing. So, as companies develop strategies for engaging in Belém Do Pará, consider the following:
- Position yourself as a proactive collaborator by engaging early and meaningfully with relevant stakeholders to offer solutions and insights that demonstrate your company’s commitment to collective climate goals.
- Avoid last-minute or ad hoc attempts to network during the event. Instead, plan and secure high-value meetings in advance, with clear agendas tied to concrete actions.
- Focus on building long term relationships with key stakeholders to construct fact based exchanges and improve knowledge-sharing on both sides.
- Use the event to reinforce your credibility and leadership by sharing tangible case studies of your impact.
- Move to establish a concrete work plan for cooperation and engagement after COP30, building up from the baseline agreements that will (hopefully) be reached.
- Lastly, be coherent. Ensure that you have a consistent ESG strategy across all markets, not just those where scrutiny may be harsher.
To further discuss the insights and recommendations herein, reach out to our experts below.
Authors
Adriana Prado
Managing Director, Brazil Public Affairs, Crisis Communications
Adriana Prado leads FTI Consulting’s Strategic Communications team in Brazil and the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Communications practice in Latin America. She frequently speaks about cyber incident preparedness and response at top-tier events in Latin America and is a guest professor at Brazilian business school Insper.
Kelly Souza
Senior Director, Brazil Public Affairs
Kelly Souza is a Director within FTI Consulting’s Strategic Communications segment, based in São Paulo. She specializes in strategic and crisis communications, cybersecurity incident response and preparedness, reputation management, and ESG strategy and positioning for national and multinational companies in diverse industries, such as financial services, technology and consumer products, among others.
Natalia Mejia
Director, Brazil Public Affairs
Natalia Mejia is a Director in the Strategic Communications segment at FTI in Brazil, providing expertise in public affairs, reputation management, risk assessment, and crisis communications. In this role, she has worked with different industries across the globe, providing support with regulatory and policy monitoring, political context analysis and advocacy strategies to help address specific client issues.
[1] Carlos Fioravanti, “Rio-92 consolidated environmental concepts,” Pesquisa Fapesp (May 2022), https://revistapesquisa.fapesp.br/en/rio-92-consolidated-environmental-concepts/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20world%20now%20recognized%20how,established%20voluntary%20emissions%20reduction%20targets
[2] Jonathan Watts, “Amazon rainforest could reach ‘tipping point’ by 2050, scientists warn,” The Guardian (February 14, 2024), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/14/amazon-rainforest-could-reach-tipping-point-by-2050-scientists-warn
[3] Jack Hurd, “4 investable pathways to help protect, manage and restore nature in Brazil,” World Economic Forum (November 26, 2024), https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/11/investable-pathways-protect-manage-restore-nature-brazil/
[4] Alice C. Hill and Priyanka Mahat, “Was COP29 in Azerbaijan a Failure?” Council on Foreign Relations, (November 25, 2024), https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/was-cop29-azerbaijan-failure
[5] Mark Poynting, Erwan Rivault and Becky Dale, “2024 first year to pass 1.5C global warming limit,” BBC, (January 10, 2025), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7575x8yq5o
[6] “Trump Pledges to End the ‘Green New Scam’,” Bloomberg (July 18, 2024), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2024-07-19/trump-pledges-to-end-the-green-new-scam-video
[7] Angela Fritz, “What is the Paris Agreement? Trump pulled the US out – again,” CNN (January 20, 2025), https://edition.cnn.com/climate/what-is-the-paris-agreement/index.html
[8] Daniel Rittner, “Com Trump, governo Lula teme esvaziamento de COP30,” CNN Brasil (June 11, 2024), https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/politica/com-trump-governo-lula-teme-esvaziamento-da-cop30/
[9] “COP29 UN Climate Conference Agrees to Triple Finance to Developing Countries, Protecting Lives and Livelihoods,” United National Climate Change (November 24, 2024), https://unfccc.int/news/cop29-un-climate-conference-agrees-to-triple-finance-to-developing-countries-protecting-lives-and#:~:text=Triple%20finance%20to%20developing%20countries%2C%20from%20the%20previous%20goal%20of,trillion%20per%20year%20by%202035
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