General Plenary Session of Leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 30. Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/COP30
COP hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but let’s be honest: you already need a recap of the pre-season.
The World Leaders Climate Summit brought early wins for nature, starting with the first global commitment to collectively recognize land tenure of 160 million hectares of Indigenous Peoples’ and local community lands in tropical forest countries. Alongside this commitment, more than 35 government and philanthropic funders organized by the Forest Tenure Funders Group (FTFG) announced a renewed five-year Forest and Land Tenure Pledge, now totaling $1.8 billion.
And yes, the spotlight moment: the official launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, endorsed by 53 countries and backed by $5.5 billion in direct investments, half of what is needed to mobilize catalytic capital. The money talk? Norway promised $3 billion over the next decade (with conditions), Brazil and Indonesia reconfirmed their $1 billion commitments, Portugal chipped in $1 million, and France hinted at up to €500 million by 2030. The Netherlands added $5 million for the secretariat, and Germany gave full endorsement, with details to come after Lula and Chancellor Merz meet. In total, 34 tropical forest countries signed the TFFF Declaration, covering over 90% of tropical forests in developing nations, including Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and China.
Members of the Nature4Climate Coalition welcomed the launch, stating the new facility as a potential game-changer for global forest finance and a long-missing mechanism to value nature as a vital economic asset, as well as calling it a “missed opportunity” for those who haven’t supported the fund.
Jennifer Morris, CEO, The Nature Conservancy said: “Tropical forests are on the frontline of the climate fight, yet past efforts to stop their decline have fallen short. The TFFF’s unprecedented ambition, innovative mechanism, plus direct support for Indigenous, traditional, and local communities will turn the tide – delivering the finance needed to tackle this problem at a meaningful scale. Much of the detail needs to be clarified – but with Brazil’s leadership and other national governments coming aboard, Belém can earn a place in COP history by supercharging forest conservation efforts for generations to come.”
Read more coalition reactions to TFFF here.
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World Leaders Take Center Stage in Belém
The two days of the World Leaders Summit could be summed up in Former Prime Minister of France Laurent Fabius’s opening message: “implement, implement, implement.” Narratives of justice, reciprocity, and implementation dominated the day, reframing climate finance as compensation for stewardship rather than aid. Leaders from coastal and forest nations echoed the role of natural ecosystems as the planet’s regulators, calling for greater equity in climate finance and accountability from major emitters.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made the case for nature clear, reminding us that the Amazon is not only the most diverse biome on Earth, but it is also home to millions of people. “Their lives are crossed by the false dilemma of prosperity and preservation,” he said, citing Indigenous populations. “Their ways of life unite every day the legitimate quest for a dignified existence with the vital mission of protecting one of humankind’s greatest natural heritages. Therefore, it is only fair that it is now the turn of those who inhabit the Amazon to ask what is being done by the rest of the world to avoid the collapse of their home.”
COP30 Special Envoy for the Ocean Marinez Scherer signalled a major priority shift, which she cemented by urging nations to unite efforts for both forests and the ocean, declaring them “one living system.” Scherer argued that this unified approach is a human necessity: “Protecting the ocean and the Amazon is not just an environmental imperative, but a collective act of survival.”, she said. The launch of Wave Forward: The Blue Thread at COP30 also signalled a coordinated effort by the ocean community to accelerate the implementation of ocean-based climate solutions, anchored in the Blue Package and Ocean Breakthroughs.
Read more details of the Climate Summit below.
“Their lives are crossed by the false dilemma of prosperity and preservation”.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, about Indigenous populations living in the Amazon.
Leaders pose for a family photo during the U.N Climate Change Conference COP 30. Photo by Hermes Caruzo/COP30
São Paulo as the Epicentre of Private Climate Action
While world leaders in Belém debated finance at the global scale, in São Paulo the private sector was already putting capital to work. In Brazil’s financial capital, more than 200 business leaders convened ahead of COP30 to showcase how the private sector is translating nature ambition into tangible investments. Today, over 11,000 companies — representing 40% of global market capitalization — have now set or committed to emissions-cutting targets, with net-zero pledges tripling since 2023.
At A Party With Nature, an evening celebrating nature action led by KPMG, Salesforce, Natura and Nature4Climate, major announcements showcased how corporate ambition is translating into investment. Google revealed its largest-ever purchase of nature-based carbon removals: a 200,000-megatonne deal with Mombak, a Brazilian startup restoring degraded Amazon pastureland into healthy, biodiverse forest. This project is the first formally approved by the Symbiosis Coalition, a buyer group founded by Google, Microsoft, Meta, McKinsey, and Salesforce to set a new bar for high-integrity nature-based carbon removals. Symbiosis members Google and McKinsey have purchased 215,000 tonnes of carbon removal from Mombak as part of their commitments, building on Microsoft’s 1,500,000-tonne offtake prior to the coalition’s launch. New members Bain & Company and REI Co-op were also announced, expanding Symbiosis’ total commitments to over 20 million tonnes of verified removals under contract by 2030.
Other global players brought forward new nature-positive finance strategies. Lloyds Bank announced a regenerative agriculture investment in the UK, supported by a geospatial survey of five million hectares—one-third of the country’s farms—to map opportunities for habitat creation, water resilience, and tree and hedge planting. Salesforce unveiled a new water-focused strategy under its Trillion Trees (1t.org) initiative, aiming to fund 100 million trees for watershed resilience and ecological innovation over the next five years, starting with projects in Brazil and Mexico.
“This moment, both this private-sector gathering and this COP, is about recognizing Brazil as the biodiversity superpower it is, and unlocking a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape new models for climate and nature leadership that the world can learn from. We’re not just building a blueprint, we’re defining a Green Print for a regenerative future.”
Katerina Elias-Trostmann, Salesforce’s Latin America Director for Climate & Nature.
At A Party With Nature, an evening celebrating nature action led by KPMG, Salesforce, Natura and Nature4Climate, major announcements showcased how corporate ambition is translating into investment. Photo: Patricia da Matta/Nature4Climate
Momentum for private investment was reinforced by Capital for Climate, which presented data showing over US$3.91 billion invested in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in Brazil since 2022—nearly half of it in 2025 alone. Future allocations are also growing, with investors intending to channel US$10.4 billion to NbS by 2027 and US$18.8 billion through 2030, according to a new Deloitte Brazil and Capital for Climate survey. As co-founder Tony Lent noted, “The momentum in the NbS market shows that Brazil is leading on the twin climate and biodiversity imperatives. Brazil is positioned to deliver market-rate returns in the bioeconomy while achieving the impact targets of its ecological transition plan.”
Rio as a Subnational Powerhouse
Rio’s pre-COP meetings cemented the city’s position as a hub for sub-national diplomacy. The COP30 Local Leaders Forum, co-hosted by the COP30 Presidency and Bloomberg Philanthropies, showcased how cities, states, and regions are driving global climate progress. Over 300 mayors pledged coordinated climate action at the forum, and a 35-member U.S. delegation led by Gina McCarthy, former White House climate adviser, showed that sub-national cooperation is thriving even where federal action falters. Brazilian mayors, including Rio’s Eduardo Paes, highlighted financing as a critical barrier, while Belém’s Igor Normando stressed that climate investment must centre not only on forests, but on the Indigenous and local communities who sustain them. Finally, thousands of mayors and regional leaders went on to issue a joint call for stronger national-local partnerships to close the gap on global climate goals, presenting the COP30 Local Leaders Forum outcome statement to UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the World Leaders Summit in Belém.
Another Rio highlight, the Mangrove Breakthrough secured key endorsements from the state governments of Pará, Pernambuco, and Sergipe, along with the city of Aracaju. These endorsements safeguard the world’s largest contiguous mangrove area under protection in Brazil.
Adding to the city’s climate spotlight, the Earthshot Prize arrived in Rio the week before COP30, hosting a star-studded ceremony that celebrated innovative climate and nature solutions. The event launched the first Latin American Earthshot Innovation Hub, focused on nature tech, clean energy, and waste reduction—with 40% of its resources dedicated to Global South projects. Among the £1 million winners were Brazil’s re.green, recognised for its Atlantic Forest restoration work, and the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF), and the High Seas Treaty, winning the Revive the Oceans category.
Read Below More Highlights of the World Leaders’ Climate Summit
General Plenary of Leaders during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 30. Foto Alex Ferro/COP 30
- Norway announced a conditional investment of up to US$3 billion to the TFFF over 10 years and plans to support emission reductions in developing countries worth up to US$1.5 billion through Article 6 arrangements.
- Indonesia is committed to match Brazil’s contribution of US$1 billion to the TFFF and will allocate 1.4 million hectares of customary forest to Indigenous communities within the next four years.
- France hinted at up to €500 million for the TFFF;
- The Netherlands added US$5 million for the TFFF secretariat.
- Portugal contributed US$1 million to the TFFF and plans to cover 80% of marine areas with updated renewable offshore energy.
- Germany gave full endorsement to the TFFF, with details to come after Lula and Chancellor Merz meet in the next few days.
- India joined the TFFF as an observer.
- Albania stated it will “very likely” join the TFFF in the next few days.
- Italy allocated €4 billion to a Climate Fund focusing on projects in Africa.
- Tajikistan announced the establishment of a UN trust fund for glacial preservation and made the initial financial contribution to this fund.
- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced scaling up its Amazonia Forever Initiative to address deforestation and build resilient livelihoods.
- Rwanda: Restoration of 2 million hectares of degraded land to meet its 30% target, plus restoration of 5 major wetlands and transforming Kigali into natural flood buffers.
- Ethiopia: Green Legacy Initiative with 48 billion tree seedlings over 7 years.
- Mongolia: Plans to launch the Rangeland Flagship Initiative to combat desertification and unlock carbon sequestration potential at the next UNCCD in 2026, when it will host the event.
- Palau: Plans to advance the Blue Pacific Initiative and the Pacific Resilience Facility.
- Bahrain: Committed to quadrupling the number of mangroves and doubling the number of trees by restoring and protecting native species.
- Côte d’Ivoire: Aims to recover 20% of its forest cover and implement climate-smart practices on 80% of its farms.
- Algeria: Green Dam Project to combat desertification across 5 million hectares.
- Papua New Guinea: Will ratify a plan to conserve 30% of its ocean space.
- Comoros: Aims to end deforestation by 2030.
- Slovenia: Preparing a national plan for nature restoration, focusing on forest biodiversity and water management.
- Côte d’Ivoire (marine): Committed to protecting 60% of its critical marine areas.
- Guyana: The first country to issue jurisdictional carbon credits, reaffirmed its commitment to meet its 30×30 protected area target.
- Honduras: Plans to establish its first international agreement using high-integrity carbon credits for climate sovereign financing and has set up task forces to achieve zero deforestation by 2030.
- Ghana: Aims to plant 30 million trees by 2030 to revitalize the forest economy and restore carbon through its program “Tree for Life.”
- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Plans to protect 500,000 square kilometers through the Kinshasa Green Corridor Project.
- Nigeria: Approved a national carbon market framework and launched a five-year carbon market roadmap (emissions trading system, carbon tax regime).
- Turkey: Adopted its first climate law, implementing an emissions trading system
Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana. “We must act on forests. Forests must be mainstream in this agenda. They have absorbed around one-third of global emissions and remain the most viable and cost-effective opportunity for mitigation by 2030. Forests cannot be an afterthought. They cannot be a negotiated item on the COP agenda. Forests must be mainstream and part of every single COP. We must not fight for forests to be on any agenda. If we are serious about climate change, forests must have a permanent place on the climate change agenda.”
Dr. Marinez Scherer, COP30 Special Envoy for the Ocean.“The voices of coastal and island nations powerfully articulated the lived reality of the climate crisis, framing the 1.5°C target not as a political goal but as a literal lifeline. Science is clear: we cannot solve the climate crisis unless we act together with and for the ocean, the main climate regulator of our planet.”
Jennifer Simons, Representative of Suriname. “Financing climate action is not charity. It is compensation for nature’s services. It is a matter of global responsibility for humanity’s survival.”
Amdaj Abdulla, Maldives.“The inequalities in climate impacts are already here, and every year that passes without action widens injustice. Our communities are losing land, fresh water, heritage, dignity, and opportunity. For us, implementation is not a political aspiration. The gap we speak of is not just financial; it is a gap in our survival.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Trade Organization. “Cutting $22 billion of harmful fishery subsidies that encourage illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing on our high seas delivers SDG 14.6 and will free up resources that could be redirected to the green transition. Reforming harmful fossil fuel subsidies and trade-distorting agricultural support would have an even greater impact. I know this is politically difficult to accomplish, but imagine if only one-third of harmful fisheries subsidies were repurposed to solve climate objectives—it could add $7 billion, nine times more than what we now have in the loss and damage fund. So let us join hands to make trade work even more effectively for people, for climate, and for nature.”
Aisha Humera Moriani, Pakistan. “The framework for the global goal on adaptation must include clear indicators for means of implementation, because a goal without finance is merely a wish list.”
Levi Sucre Romero, from the Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), about the Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment: “By making this commitment, major governments and funders recognize the crucial role we play in the fight against climate change and acknowledge the efforts our communities have made to create our own funds that reach our people without unnecessary bureaucracy. We welcome this with cautious optimism, knowing that promises alone cannot stop the deforestation, fires, and unprecedented violence we face today in our territories. The funds must reach Indigenous Peoples and local communities directly, without getting stuck in bureaucracy. Land titling processes must treat us as partners and value our deep knowledge of the territory. These promises give us hope, but only the actions taken from today onward will give us a real chance to preserve the forests that protect not only us, but the entire planet, from catastrophic climate change.”
Nigel Topping, co-founder of Ambition Loop (Mangroves Breakthrough host) and UN’s High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26. “The Mangroves Breakthrough used to be called a radical collaboration, but now, as a multi-stakeholder effort between communities, scientists, NGOs, businesses, and finance, we think of it as the Mangrove mutirão. Next year, the Mangroves Breakthrough will launch the Mangroves Catalyst Alliance—a financial instrument to support investment in mangrove-adjacent businesses. There’s just not enough blue carbon to invest solely in restoration toward the $4 billion and 15 million hectares goal. Finally, stick with us until Belém, because we’ll be announcing just how much capital has been mobilized so far this decade and how big the pipeline is. Let’s just say it’s a significant step toward the $4 billion target.”