Lisbon, Nov. 6, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese minister for the environment and energy believes that a successful UN climate conference in Brazil will have to deliver concrete results and admits that the world "is falling far short of the goals" of the Paris Agreement.
Maria da Graça Carvalho was speaking to Lusa about the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will take place in Belém, Brazil, between 10 and 21 November.
Today and Friday, a summit of leaders convened by the Brazilian government will take place, bringing together more than fifty heads of state and government in the same location. The Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and Maria da Graça Carvalho will be in attendance.
COP30 brings virtually every country in the world together and, like previous meetings, its fundamental objective is to prevent global warming caused by human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels.
Ten years ago, in the French capital, countries approved the Paris Agreement, committing themselves to do everything possible to prevent temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, and preferably not exceeding 1.5 ºC.
When asked by Lusa what would constitute a successful COP30, Maria da Graça Carvalho was emphatic in stating that it would be "a COP with concrete results", not just a COP of "grand negotiations" and "grand declarations" but one with "very concrete results".
And results especially in three areas: mitigation, adaptation and just transition.
In terms of mitigation, COP30 needs to look at what each country has reduced in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and what is needed to increase efforts to reduce these emissions, she stressed.
In terms of adaptation, the minister advocated a "more global strategy" of cooperation, and the same for just transition.
"We need a just transition at the international level, as well as international cooperation in which countries with greater difficulties in making this transition have the help of those who can make this transition better."
Maria da Graça Carvalho gave the example of what Portugal is doing with the conversion of Cabo Verde's debt in support of climate action, adding that the same will be done with São Tomé and Príncipe.
The minister emphasised the importance of a just transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a clean economy, involving countries with the most difficulties but also island states, which emit less GHG but suffer most from the impacts of climate change.
"International cooperation that takes into account the situation of these states would be a good outcome" of COP30, she stressed.
Recalling the debt conversion of Cabo Verde and São Tomé and Principe, Maria da Graça Carvalho pointed out that Portugal has managed to get the European Commission to consider this effort in the national reduction of GHG emissions, up to a figure of 3%.
"We are still trying to reach 4% or 5% but we have already achieved 3%, so it is another incentive to continue with these debt conversion systems, which is good for Portugal but very good for the countries with which we are doing this conversion," she said.
The Minister for the Environment and Energy conceded that the known global contributions to GHG reduction are "far below" the Paris Agreement targets and hopes that COP30 will "make an effort to go further" in reducing emissions.
"That is what I hope, that an additional effort will be made in relation to the initial proposals of the States, those that are already known," she told Lusa.
Maria da Graça Carvalho, who will be in Belém from today, will attend the official opening of the COP and the inauguration of the Portuguese pavilion on Monday, returning later for the last week of COP30.
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