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Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.
It’s the first day of COP30, the annual United Nations climate talks. Canadian negotiators will be in Brazil for the next two weeks to discuss how the world will continue to adapt to climate change risks and what mitigation efforts lie ahead. We’ll dive in.
Now, let’s catch you up on other news.
Noteworthy reporting this week:Analysis: Federal budget signals Carney’s new tone on climate policy, but not much substanceMajor projects: Northern Ontario chiefs step up demands for consultation in resource projectsPolitics: Liberal ministers avoid saying when emissions cap could be scrappedCoal: Documents related to Summit coal decision raise more questions about Alberta Energy Regulator’s independenceIndigenous business: Haisla Nation to acquire assets of cancelled LNG project in B.C.A deeper diveOpen this photo in gallery:
Participants gather outside the venue for COP30 in Belem, Brazil, on Monday. About 50,000 people are expected to attend the climate summit.Fernando Llano/The Associated Press
What you need to know for COP30
For this week’s deeper dive, a brief lookahead to the 30th Conference of the Parties. With files from Canadian Press.
Let’s keep it simple. Here are some of the things to know as COP30 kicks off today, plus what Canada’s role could be.
Where?
The location of this year’s conference is a reminder of what is at stake.
The summit will take place in Belem, a gateway to the Amazon River. The city is also close to the Amazon rain forest – a.k.a. the “lungs of the world” – which has been choked by wildfires and deforestation.
A boat sails on the Guama River in Belem, Brazil on Sunday.MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty Images
What?
The United Nations climate-treaty process launched in 1992 with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The first COP, which stands for Conference of the Parties, after those who signed, took place in 1995. COP30 is the 30th annual meeting.
The conference also marks 10 years since the the Paris Agreement. The international treaty, which garnered 195 eventual signatories, is considered a landmark in the fight against climate change; many activists speak of “before Paris” and “after Paris.”
Why?
Brazil, the host country, has indicated this COP will be focused on following through on existing deals, rather than advancing new rules. More than half of the countries attending have yet to submit updated national climate plans, which were due earlier this year.
Key focus areas will include adaptation, how to make countries more resilient and last year’s pledge to mobilize at least US$1.3-trillion annually by 2035 for climate finance.
Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister of Indigenous Peoples, speaks about the framework of COP30 in Belem last week.PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/Getty Images
Who?
The COP heads of state summit, which was held last week, had only about half the attendance of the same event last year.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres opened with harsh words for world powers who he said “remain captive to the fossil fuel interests, rather than protecting the public interest.”
Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also spoke sternly. “It is only right that it is the turn of the Amazonian people to ask what the rest of the world is doing to prevent the collapse of their home,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords the day he entered office and will not be in attendance.
What about Canada?
Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin will lead Canada’s delegation for the first week of the conference. Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former UN special envoy on climate finance and veteran of the summit, is not expected to attend as his government faces confidence votes on the budget.
Canada will likely continue to play a bridge-builder role to help countries reach a consensus on some of the key issues. But climate observers say Canada’s support for oil and gas expansion, as well as the country’s silence on meeting emissions targets, could undermine its position.
Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, president of the non-profit Indigenous Climate Action and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, has participated in previous COP events. She says Canada has been receptive to Indigenous proposals at the UN climate summit but “when it comes to implementation at home, it’s falling flat.”
Also read:
What else you missedOpinion and analysis
The fight against climate change appears to be officially dead
The world appears to be yielding to forces – economic, political and otherwise – that have pushed climate change off the front pages and back into the journals of academia. Or at least that’s how it feels.
— Gary Mason, National affairs columnist
For Mark Carney, it’s not easy being green
The budget seems to bid adieu to Canada’s commitment to the Paris climate commitments and makes Canada a safe space for companies that want to lie about how environmentally friendly and gluten-free they are.
— Mark Leiren-Young, author of Greener Than Thou: Surviving the Toxic Sludge of Canadian Eco-Politics and the host of the Skaana podcastGreen Investing
Ottawa plans to scale back ‘greenwashing’ rules, but companies say it’s not enough
It’s a move that has upset both business groups and environmental advocates: In the 2025 budget, the government said it would propose amendments to remove some aspects of the provisions in its contentious anti-greenwashing legislation.
Greenwashing, as a reminder, is the practice of making false or misleading environmental claims.
“These ‘greenwashing’ provisions are creating investment uncertainty and having the opposite of the desired effect with some parties slowing or reversing efforts to protect the environment,” the government said in the budget.
The Climate ExchangeWe’ve launched the The Climate Exchange, an interactive, digital hub where The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change. We have been collecting hundreds of questions and posing them to experts. The answers can be found with the help of a search tool developed by The Globe that makes use of artificial intelligence to match readers’ questions with the closest answer drafted. You can ask a question using this form.Photo of the weekOpen this photo in gallery:
Kakeru Matsuhashi is one of a dwindling number of traditional Matagi hunters in Japan. Since April, a record 13 people have been killed by bears in the country, and incidents such as the animals entering homes and rampaging in supermarkets have been reported on an almost daily basis. The government is scrambling to deal with the surge, which scientists say is the result of a fast-growing bear population combined with a bad acorn harvest, which has left the animals hungry. Another issue is that the number Matagi hunters is less than half of what it was in 1980.CAROLINE GARDIN/AFP/Getty Images
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