Marking ten years of the Paris Agreement, COP30 in Belem has confirmed that the Paris machinery remains functional
While COP30 did not produce a grand political breakthrough, it confirmed that climate action is not only driven by negotiation cycles but also by tangible implementation and capital flows: investments in renewables are still double those of fossil fuels since last year, displaying technological progress and the viability of low-carbon alternatives. Being the second most attended COP, Belém clarified the trajectory for the decade ahead – a decade in which climate governance will be more fragmented, implementation-driven, and heavily reliant on private capital.
Scaling climate and nature finance will require savvy allocation, risk factor management, and disciplined use of credible transition plans to convert ambition into real economy outcomes.
Some noteworthy takeaways from COP30 are:
- It provided the clearest financial architecture to date through the Baku–to-Belém roadmap, which includes the path to mobilizing $1.3 trillion per year from international climate finance to EMDEs by 2035
- It marked the operationalization of the Loss & Damage Fund, confirming that climate impacts are now a core financial risk and a growing market opportunity.
- It moved international carbon markets closer to working smoothly, with the emergence of early Article 6 transactions and a new carbon market coalition
- It hosted the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, that could become the largest nature-focused financing instrument ever created, and may establish an investable asset class centered on “forest conservation endowments», moving from private assets to capital market instruments
- It highlighted a rebalancing of leadership towards emerging markets and developing economies, which will require investors to adapt geographic exposure, risk frameworks and engagement strategies
