PARLIAMENTARIANS@COP30 Newsletter | 31 March 2025, Volume 5 Issue 2

Welcome to the March issue of our multilingual Parliamentarians@COP30 newsletter, prepared by GLOBE Legislators serving as theUNFCCC Focal Point for the world’s parliamentary constituency. Our work supports legislators to deliver on their Paris Agreement (and related) climate commitments, and to prepare for and engage effectively at COP30.
 
We are proud to work closely with the COP28-COP29-COP30 Presidencies, the first such Troika, to better coordinate across the Presidencies and support Mission 1.5C.

Contents

1. UN/COP30 Presidency Updates
2. Global updates
3. Tracking Parliamentary Climate Actions
4. Parliamentary network reports
5. Have your say/Support us/Contact us

At COP29, we once again hosted the Parliamentary Pavilion. Most of the events at the Parliamentary Pavilion were livestreamed and the videos for 35 events can be viewed directly on the  Parliamentary Pavilion playlist here. Photos from the Pavilion events can be viewed on Flickr here.

COP30 Presidency Outlines Vision in First Letter

COP30 President-designate, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, on 10 March, 2025, released his first letter to Parties and constituencies. The letter, intended as the first of a series continues a tradition set by the COP28 Presidency with a call for Mutirao - collaboration, strengthening multilateralism and action. More here.  

New Dates for COP30 Heads of State Summit

COP Troika Launches Roadmap for Belém

The COP Troika–Presidencies of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 UN Climate Change Conferences (COP) released a joint statement on 26 February, outlining the roadmap to COP30 to be held in Belém this November. Citing the World Meteorological Organisation’s report that the global average temperatures exceeded the 1.5℃ temperature threshold in 2024, the statement called on Parties to uphold the commitments they made at COP28 and COP29, and to show leadership through robust and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) which are due in September this year. The Troika identified NDCs as key tools to aligning global efforts, and is set to host a series of high level political meetings to assess barriers to NDCs. More here

COP30: Accommodation Costs Scare Off Potential Attendees

Belém, the host city for COP30, is facing a critical accommodation shortage ahead of the global climate change summit scheduled for November 2025. The city is expected to host around 50,000 attendees, a figure that is 7% lower than last year's turnout in Baku and 40% below that of Dubai, raising serious concerns about its capacity to host the annual event.  Many participants are growing increasingly skeptical about attending the event as room prices continue to surge dramatically. Booking platforms such as Booking.com report an unprecedented 9562% increase over last year's hotel rates. Meanwhile, the Brazilian federal government has yet to issue an official statement on the number of available rooms in Belem. More here

UN Regional Climate Change Weeks to Restart

The UNFCCC secretariat is set to resume some regional Climate Weeks in 2025 to strengthen global political momentum ahead of COP30, and fast-track negotiations ahead of the SBB Bonn negotiations to be held in June. These annual weeklong events, which were canceled last year due to a lack of funding and a strategic rethink, will bring together representatives of Parties and non-Party stakeholders, blending multiple UNFCCC-mandated activities with high-impact policy dialogues whose outcomes will directly shape the COP negotiations. The UNFCCC Climate Weeks aim to advance intergovernmental processes, promote innovative climate solutions, support robust implementation and ambition, and highlight how strong climate action benefits everyday life and the broader economy. Scheduled to take place twice this year in different regions, the first Climate Week is set to be hosted in Panama this May, with a second event planned in Africa ahead of COP30. More here

CBD COP16Res Concludes with Key Decisions

Delegates reconvened in Rome from 25 to 27 February to resume talks on the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16). Prominent were key decisions on finance, planning, reporting and review, and the monitoring framework to measure progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF).  Negotiations on these issues were suspended late last year in Cali due to lack of quorum. However, key decisions were reached at the Rome session including resource mobilisation on biodiversity finance where delegates agreed to mobilize at least $200 billion annually by 2030 to support biodiversity conservation in developing countries, a resolution on a financial mechanism to operationalize international finance flow from developed to developing countries under Article 20 of the convention, a set of key performance indicators for tracking progress towards the goals of the KMGBF, and mechanisms for monitoring, reporting and review. The Cali Fund for the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits from the use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources (DSI) was also launched. More here

Berlin Hosts Petersburg Dialogue

The 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue took place in Berlin, Germany on 25-26 March 2025. The first ministerial meeting of the year, paving the way for COP30, saw ministers re-commit to multilateralism and the Paris Agreement. With a focus on "opportunities for international cooperation and an accelerated shift to climate-neutral economies", this year's dialogue took place with the U.S conspicuously absent. The dialogue also provided a platform for the release of a report on NDCs by OECD and UNDP making the case for ambitious NDCs. More here.

SEforALL Global Forum Held in Barbados

The 6th edition of the Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum took place in Bridgetown, Barbados on 12 and 13 March 2025. With the theme of “Sustainable Energy for Equity, Security and Prosperity”, the forum sought to catalyse investments and action towards addressing global energy needs in a clean and sustainable manner. The event was graced by high-level speakers across the world including the COP29 President; COP30 President-designate; H.E. Mia Amor Mottley the Prime Minister of Barbados; among others. More here.

USA Sets Out New Energy Policy

Date Fixed for Global NDCs Conference
(11-13 June 2025)

GLOBE to Host Conference on Parliamentary Engagement in NDCs 3.0 (10 June 2025)

GLOBE will be hosting a Conference on Parliamentary Engagement in the NDCs 3.0 the day before on 10 June 2025 in Berlin. The GLOBE conference will see the launch of the survey on parliamentary engagement in the NDCs 3.0 and showcase best practice emerging in parliaments around the world. Parliamentarians interested in attending and presenting their work are invited to contact GLOBE directly at secretariat@globelegislators.org by 22 April 2025.

Climate Week in Panama: Date and Mandatory Events Agreed

The first of the Regional Climate Weeks will take place in Panama City, Panama, on the 19-23 May, 2025. To that end, the UNFCCC Secretariat has informed Parties that the following mandated events will take place:

1. Fifth Global Dialogue and Investment-focused Event under the Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme – 19 to 20 May 2025.

2. Biregional Gathering of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform for North America, Central and South America, and the Caribbean– 19 to 23 May 2025.

3. Global DNA Forum on Article 6 implementation – 20 to 22 May 2025.

4. Third Dialogue under the United Arab Emirates just transition work programme – 22 to 23 May 2025.

5. Consultation to present the revised NAP technical guidelines to the Parties – 23 May 2025.

Germany Enshrines Climate Neutrality Target in Basic Law

Germany has officially enshrined its 2045 climate neutrality target into its constitution. Acting Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, revealed this while speaking at the 16th Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin. Baerbock who affirmed that the action "sends out a vital message" further revealed that the country has now earmarked 100 billion euros for green infrastructure projects. More here.

Brazilian Govt Meets with MPs on COP30

The government of Brazil has taken an important initiative by convening a meeting with Members of Parliament to discuss plans for COP30. The meeting which had 30 Deputies in attendance was intended “to gather the expectations and perspectives of the National Congress on the process of setting the agenda for COP30. The meeting was led by Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, the MMA's Executive Secretary, João Paulo Capobianco, and the head of the Ministry's Extraordinary Advisory Office for COP30 (ASCOP), Alice Amorim. More here.

Parliamentary Network Reports

Parliamentary Group Monthly Webinar Held

The March edition of the Parliamentary Group’s monthly “Parliamentarians@COP30” webinar took place on 26th March, 2025. There were Morning and Afternoon sessions with the webinars serving as platforms for information sharing, planning and coordination by members of parliament, staff and parliamentary organisations for COP30 and related processes to inform and support parliamentary engagement. The April edition will take place on 23 April, 2025. To register, please email  <focalpoint@globelegislators.org>.

Climate Parliament Kickstarts Parliamentarians for Climate Finance Project across Africa

The Climate Parliament in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), and supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), has launched the Parliamentarians for Climate Finance Project across 15 African countries. This project aims to tackle the challenges in public climate finance deficit through empowering parliamentarians with the technical capacity to scale up renewable energy investments, attract green finance, and shape policies for sustainable development.

IPU Organises NDCs Event for MPs

The IPU, with support from ASU Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, has launched a series of videos on key climate topics to support parliaments around the world in advancing climate action. The series addresses topics such as climate science, global climate governance, the role of the private sector, just transitions, and tools for effective climate action. More here

GLOBE tracks parliamentary engagements in the UNFCCC process on an ongoing basis. We would like to hear from you on your parliamentary engagement on climate change. Please contact  <focalpoint@globelegislators.org> We look forward to hearing from you with your news and views on how parliaments are impacting the climate agenda.

GLOBE International is an international charity registered in Belgium. We work in a cross-party and non-partisan manner to ensure that elected representatives are aware of and engaged in key international processes such as the United Nations conference of parties (COPs) on climate change, biodiversity and desertification.
Since 2021, GLOBE has served as the UNFCCC Focal Point for the Parliamentary Group, providing a range of services to help inform and organise the global parliamentary constituency. We seek to do the same for the other Rio Conventions and key international institutions and processes.  As a non-profit organisation our work relies on public support and donations. If you would like to support our work, kindly Donate using our Paypal account: the beneficiary is <secretariat@globelegislators.org>

Please contact us with your news, views, and information about parliaments and climate action, including sharing any Hearings, reports, articles and blogs you may have written. We look forward to hearing from you through  focalpoint@globelegislators.org.

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