The developing nations continue to carry the heaviest costs of climate impacts triggered by the developed nations. The rich nations are mainly responsible for creating the climate crisis through industrialisation, urbanisation, transportation, and meat production. On the other hand, poor nations contribute very little to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, yet they bear the burden of climate disasters and experience the severe consequences of floods, droughts, wildfires, and heatwaves.
Brazil is poised to host the 30th annual Conference of the Parties (COP), which is to be organised in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21, 2025. COP30 is likely to be another climate conference wrapped in tall claims, hollow rhetoric, shallow pledges, and symbolic obligations. From COP28 in Dubai to COP29 in Azerbaijan, world leaders failed to grasp the moment and achieve the determined environmental objectives due to the non-binding nature of commitments through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Last year, at the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, developed nations pledged to mobilise 300 billion dollars annually by 2035 for developing nations. However, poor nations criticised the absence of a guaranteed mechanism to ensure delivery and sustain credibility. Most importantly, the set climate finance target was highly insufficient to meet the actual needs of climate-hit nations.
Global climate platforms like COP mostly hinge on empty words, paper pledges, and voluntary commitments, with no satisfactory results achieved — a clear indication that the world is drifting away from its environmental targets. Platforms like COP and treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement are becoming redundant, irrelevant, and toothless. There is a dire need to emphasise the significance of COP and the Paris Accord, reorient international climate priorities, and revive the global climate agenda.
COP30 should be seen as a unique and golden opportunity for world leaders to make it a turning point, one that bridges the divide between the Global North and the Global South in terms of international climate cooperation
The primary purpose of the 2015 Paris Agreement is to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement underscores a five-year work cycle through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but national climate change obligations remain unfulfilled every year due to financial impediments. It is Herculean for the Global South to achieve net zero without financial and technical support from the Global North.
The developing nations lack clean and sustainable technologies, energy-efficient infrastructure, electric transportation, adequate climate finance, and systematic capacity building for the adaptation and mitigation of climate impacts. Technology transfer and additional climate finance should be provided to climate-affected countries. Without such global cooperation, industrialisation will continue to aggravate the climate crisis.
Climate change is the primary challenge and existential threat to the world. Global leaders need to take this crisis seriously, but unfortunately, the world is entangled in a race to expand military expenditures, thereby igniting geopolitical tensions and undermining global climate efforts. Global defence expenditures reached a record 2.7 trillion dollars in 2024 and are expected to rise to 6.6 trillion dollars by 2035 if the current military race continues — a stark reflection of the world’s misplaced priorities.
The “Polluter Pays” principle should be implemented because climate polluters bear the sole responsibility for the climate catastrophe. Sadly, climate hypocrisy has become prevalent across the world, as developed countries only preach instead of delivering satisfactory outcomes. Despite being a major polluter, the United States, under Donald Trump, withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time, a move that demonstrates the lack of seriousness among rich countries in tackling the climate crisis.
There should be a robust accountability mechanism for developed nations for their leading role in fuelling the climate crisis. The inaction of main polluters such as the United States, Canada, and China, and the injustice of forcing poor countries to pay for environmental degradation they did not cause, are two central factors behind the ongoing crisis. The Paris Climate Agreement was aimed at redressing inaction and injustice, but no progress has been made so far in this regard.
COP30 should be seen as a unique and golden opportunity for world leaders to make it a turning point, one that bridges the divide between the Global North and the Global South in terms of international climate cooperation. Unity, resilience, and fairness are key to global climate efforts. Responsible nations should prioritise climate change over the military race and direct all energies towards climate-friendly initiatives to protect the planet for future generations.