Belém, Brazil -- Leaders attending the COP30 climate summit in the Amazon city of Belém used opening speeches to denounce the US president's approach to climate science, even as many major emitters were absent from the gathering. Delegates now face two weeks of negotiations focused on boosting funding for forest protection and other climate measures.
Although President Trump did not travel to Belém, his comments on climate remain a focal point for speakers. At the UN in September the US president said that climate change was "the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world".
Several national leaders directly targeted that stance. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned of "extremist forces that fabricate fake news and are condemning future generations to life on a planet altered forever by global warming". Leaders from Chile and Colombia went further in accusing the US president of dishonesty and urged others to disregard moves away from climate action.
Only a limited number of heads of state are present in Belém. Large players in the global emissions landscape did not send their leaders this year, a factor that delegates say complicates the push for stronger, unified commitments.
Organisers and participants noted that a majority of countries have not yet submitted updated national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making it harder to secure ambitious outcomes.
Hosts and campaigners at COP30 are calling for significant new funding to protect the world's major rainforests, which store vast amounts of carbon and support rich biodiversity. Brazil's president had sought $25bn from public sources for a Tropical Forests Forever Facility to help governments and communities safeguard ecosystems such as the Amazon and the Congo Basin.
In a surprise move, the UK Government decided not to join a flagship $125bn rainforest fund. The UK had been deeply involved in designing the mechanism and had previously launched a global pledge to halt deforestation by 2030 when it hosted COP26 in Glasgow.
Lord Zach Goldsmith, who worked on the issue when he was former environment minister, told the BBC's PM programme: "The assumption was that the UK would be a leading participant and at the last minute the UK has walked away. It has caused real frustration to put it mildly here in Brazil.. the Brazilian government behind the scenes is furious."
Speaking to the summit, the Prince of Wales described the proposed facility as "a visionary step toward valuing nature's role in climate stability" and said he had shortlisted it for his £1m Earthshot Prize.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged a changing political landscape around climate policy, saying "My message is that the UK is all in." He also observed that "today however, sadly that consensus is gone".
Prince William urged leaders to put aside divisions and act for future generations: "I have long believed in the power of urgent optimism: the conviction that, even in the face of daunting challenges, we have the ingenuity and determination to make a difference, and to do so now," he said. "Let us rise to this moment with the clarity that history demands of us. Let us be the generation that turned the tide - not for applause, but for the quiet gratitude of those yet to be born."
Delegates at COP30 pointed to recent destructive weather events as evidence of accelerating climate impacts. Hurricane Melissa, which struck the Caribbean last week, has been reported to have killed more than 75 people. Researchers at Imperial College have estimated that climate change increased the extreme rainfall associated with the Category 5 hurricane by 16%.
Negotiations will continue through the two-week summit, with talks expected to focus on how to mobilise finance pledged for nations already suffering the worst effects of climate change, and on reaching agreement to better protect forested ecosystems. Delegates say achieving consensus will be difficult given the absence of several major countries and the uneven submission of updated emissions plans.