Brazil's Lula Calls Climate Change a 'Tragedy of the Present' at COP30

The COP30 climate conference has opened in the Brazilian city of Belem, located in the Amazon rainforest, with a stark warning from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula told the gathering of over 50,000 delegates that "climate change is no longer a threat of the future. It is a tragedy of the present."

The conference comes as the world grapples with the failure to meet the Paris Agreement's safer goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. UN climate chief Simon Stiell called on nations to move "much, must faster" to reduce emissions and keep this target alive, though scientists now say breaching it is inevitable.

Activists fear that geopolitical tensions, from wars to trade feuds, are distracting nations from the urgent task of combating climate change. The absence of the United States, the world's top oil producer and second-biggest emitter, also weighs heavily on the talks. Lula, however, defended his decision to host the event in the Amazon, aiming to bring negotiators face-to-face with the challenges facing the vital rainforest.