COP30 media coverage from the ground in Belém

As part of the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) program, fourteen fellows have been selected to attend and report from COP30, which will take place in Belém, Brazil, from 10-21 November, 2025. Three virtual fellows from the Pacific Islands will be covering this year’s climate summit remotely.

The location of this year’s COP in the developing city of Belém along the Amazon River is intended to draw heightened attention during the negotiations to forests, poverty, biodiversity, and Indigenous rights. Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) for 2035 commitments are due this year, and the scope of COP30 includes mandates to finalize at least 16 decisions across critical areas, including Adaptation, Just Transition, and implementing the recommendations from the Global Stocktake.

The gap between projected climate impacts and necessary commitments to implement climate action remains high, according to COP30 President-designate André Corrêa do Lago, especially among rich nations that are top polluters, such as the United States, which withdrew from the Paris Agreement earlier this year. Even as some predict there to be less civil society presence overall because of logistical challenges in Belém, engagement by non-state actors and civil society as a corrective force to get back on track with climate ambitions will also play a key role during the COP30 negotiations reported on by the fellows. Their coverage will keep audiences in their home countries informed so that policymakers can be held accountable to keep targets within reach.

CCMP offers people in low- and middle-income countries—who bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing relatively little to global emissions—firsthand reporting by journalists from their own countries at the COP as an alternative to relying solely on global wire services for news about the UN climate negotiations. Audiences and media houses will benefit from having journalists from their own countries able to contextualize the climate negotiations and help connect this global conference to the experiences of communities facing climate change impacts.

Please note that the headlines below have in many cases been translated from the original reporting. Links are to the original publications.

Read selected reporting from CCMP Fellows, Virtual Fellows, and Trainers at COP30 (see full list):

• South Korea commits to coal phase-out, adding to clean energy momentum at COP30
  Samantha Ho, November 18, 2025, Eco-Business
• COP30: Amazon Governors consortium sponsored by companies accused of environmental crimes
  Adrielle Farias, November 18, 2025, Terra
• Pope Leo XIV calls for urgent climate action and says God’s creation is ‘crying out’
  Anton L. Delgado, November 17, 2025, Associated Press
• Disability is always sidelined in climate discussions
  Durga Rana Magar, November 17, 2025, Anumodan National Daily
• WWF expert: Pacific communities must be at the heart of climate talks
  Ulutah Gina, November 16, 2025, Solomon Star
• How Bangladesh’s youth-led climate organisations battle funding gaps
  Masum Billah, November 15, 2025, The Business Standard
• Indigenous peoples demand access to climate finance as world falls short of delivering on promises
  Durga Rana Magar, November 15, 2025, Nepali Times
• ICJ climate ruling a ‘Game Changer’ for Pacific youth
  Ulutah Gina, November 14, 2025, Solomon Star
• Global climate negotiations kick off in Brazil as Philippines bears brunt of climate impacts
  Raphael Bosano, November, 11, 2025, ABS-CBN News
• Bangladesh presses for debt-free climate justice as COP30 opens in Belem
  Masum Billah, November 11, 2025, The Business Standard
• At UN climate talks in Brazil, the only sign of the United States is an empty chair
  Anton L. Delgado, November 10, 2025, Associated Press
• COP30: What India hopes to achieve from Belem climate change meet
  Cheena Kapoor, November 10, 2025, Scroll
• COP30: Latin American leaders set the tone for crucial climate summit
  Fermín Koop, November 10, 2025, Dialogue Earth
• How middle income countries are reshaping climate leadership ahead of COP30, with WRI chief Ani Dasgupta
  Samantha Ho, November 6, 2025, Eco-Business