Priorities For Climate Justice at COP30

COP30 in Belém comes at a moment of both crisis and opportunity. Global emissions remain dangerously high, adaptation action lags far behind, and climate finance continues to fall short of meeting growing needs. The world is off track to limit warming to 1.5°C, and the impacts are already severe. Yet these impacts are not felt equally; they deepen inequalities and threaten the lives and livelihoods of those who have contributed least to the crisis and who are bearing the heaviest burden.

COP30 offers a critical chance for a course-correction. Success in Belém depends on weaving together the threads of mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and other negotiation tracks into a coherent vision of climate justice: one that protects people and ecosystems, redistributes resources and power, and recognizes the leadership of those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The Netherlands has both a responsibility and an opportunity to act, by standing firmly for ambition, equity, and accountability, and by helping to shape outcomes that deliver for those most vulnerable to climate impacts.

The Internationale Klimaatcoalitie - an informal network of Dutch civil society organizations - presents this position paper with recommendations for the Netherlands and the European Union. These recommendations aim to ensure their positions contribute to an ambitious and equitable outcome at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.