By Dean Dettloff, Research and Advocacy Officer
In 2020, Pope Francis published Querida Amazonia, an apostolic exhortation on the Amazon region. Emphasizing that discussions of the Amazon must always include the importance of this unique biome and the people who live there, the document makes a plea to the world to approach the Amazon with care and justice. As Pope Francis put it clearly, “The interest of a few powerful industries should not be considered more important than the good of the Amazon region and of humanity as a whole.”
COP30, held in the Amazonian city of Belém, Brazil, revealed just how powerful those interests can be. One coalition of civil society organizations reported that 1,600 fossil fuel lobbyists descended on the conference, accounting for one in every 25 people at COP30. Taken together, they outnumbered the COP30 delegations of every country except the host, Brazil.
But it is not just fossil fuel lobbyists who have an interest in slowing down progress on climate change, reducing carbon emissions and facilitating a just transition away from fossil fuels. Even countries whose economies are built on fossil fuel and extractive industries have an interest in ensuring that climate talks do not negatively impact their bottom lines, even if those bottom lines are bad for the world as a whole.
COP30 represented the official space for national governments to negotiate addressing climate change, but social movements around the world also came together to organize their own space in the form of a Peoples’ Summit. In workshops, rallies, common meals and more, tens of thousands of people became protagonists in the global discussion on climate change. Alongside these spaces, a significant interfaith community dialogued in a series of events referred to as a “tapiri,” an Indigenous term referring to tents that serve as a refuge for people on the move. The Catholic Church gathered in each of these spaces with an unprecedented level of engagement.
With a reported 70,000 people walking together in a march on November 15, the mass of people gathered in the streets outnumbered not only fossil fuel lobbyists, but even the 56,000 people registered to attend COP30 itself, a demonstration that people are ready for real climate action.
Over two weeks of negotiations, the Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada (DPCC) delegation explored all of these arenas as well as the work of our partners and communities in the Amazon, looking for opportunities to build bridges between them, amplify the voices of our partners and connect with Canadian decision-makers and civil society.
COP30: a lack of ambition
Before our delegation left for Brazil, we identified a few big topics to follow at COP30: (1) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), or the plans proposed by governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (2) climate finance; and (3) just transition.
As we expected then, the NDCs showed that countries are not acting with enough ambition to reduce emissions. For instance, Canada is far off-track on its 2030 emissions target, according to a year-end government report.
Issues related to climate finance, too, were discouraging throughout the negotiations, with developing countries routinely expressing their need for more funding and less debt to make progress and rich countries refusing to budge despite being the most responsible for the climate crisis.
On just transition, however, there was some good news. During negotiations, civil society loudly expressed support for the “Belém Action Mechanism,” or the BAM, a way of coordinating and integrating knowledge, funds and technology to better implement a just transition. By the end of the conference and following significant pressure, parties agreed to create such a just transition mechanism, showing the importance of coordinated action from civil society.
Ironically, however, COP30 stopped short of reaffirming the goal of phasing out fossil fuels. The parties agreed to the need for easier ways to facilitate a just transition but could not publicly agree on what exactly countries need to transition away from. Nevertheless, the governments of Colombia and the Netherlands agreed to host a conference in 2026 dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels, an encouraging sign.
For its part, on November 18, Canada earned the satirical honour of being named the “Fossil of the Day” by Climate Action Network International. The “award” recognized the federal government’s backtracking on climate policies, lack of leadership, disrespect for Indigenous rights in favor of pushing forward major projects and the absence of Prime Minister Mark Carney, who, instead of attending the COP, was seeking investments from the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer. This made it clear that Canadians must continue to urge our government to become a leader for climate justice, not merely looking inward for short-term economic gain but opening ourselves fully to the common, global challenge of ecological responsibility.
COP30: why participate?
Overall, the verdict from civil society is that COP30 has been disappointing, showing a lack of ambition from world leaders. Yet, the COP process remains worth engaging in because:
- COP is the only global forum for discussing climate change where all countries are entitled to one vote, meeting on an equal plane.
- COP compels countries to be more public and transparent about their real commitments to climate action.
- The United Nations affirms the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” This means that all countries must act on climate change, but wealthier countries with greater emissions have more responsibility. The COP is where poorer countries and civil society can remind those wealthier countries, like Canada, of their unique responsibilities.
- And finally, if the Church and the people stay out of the process, the loudest voices will be those resisting the urgent and courageous action we need.
As disappointing, frustrating or exhausting as the COPs might be, it remains essential that prophetic voices continue to pressure decision-makers to do what is right and just when it comes to climate change.
The Church and the People’s Summit: incarnation in Belém
While COP30 did not deliver the results we need, the occasion prompted a truly hopeful gathering of people who believe another world is possible. The Peoples’ Summit, organized over months by social movements, including some of our partners, showed that genuine creativity and power to effect change is already in the hands of the people themselves.
Workshops and working groups provided a people’s analysis of the many intersecting crises in our world. The momentous march, which included gigantic puppets, clowns, music and costumes, proved that calling for climate justice can be colourful, imaginative and joyful. And the tapiri brought the deep wisdom of faith traditions together to explore the spiritual roots of the climate crisis, as well as the spiritual resources we have to do something different.
Throughout these many spaces, the contributions of the many different sectors of the Catholic Church—from lay people, religious, priests, bishops and cardinals to networks, NGOs and the Holy See—displayed a synodal church, walking together internally and externally. To mark the occasion, Catholics at COP organized a statement signed by over 80 organizations from more than 30 countries present for the conference, with over 400 more signing in just a few days in solidarity abroad.
Political leaders at COP30 did not find the determination necessary to save our planet. Yet Belém, which means “Bethlehem” in Portuguese, nevertheless became the birthplace of a unique incarnation of God’s care for Creation. As Pope Leo XIV put it in a video message shared during the negotiations, “We walk alongside scientists, leaders and pastors of every nation and creed. We are guardians of creation, not rivals for its spoils.”
At DPCC, we will continue on this synodal path, bringing a prophetic voice for climate justice to our decision-makers in Canada.
See all the pictures in our Flickr Album.
To read the delegation’s interviews at COP30:
- 20251103 – Catholic Saskatoon News: Development and Peace – Caritas Canada at COP30: amplifying the voices of partners in the Global South for global ecological justice
- 20251114 – The Trailbreaker – CBC Listen: N.W.T bishop pushing for ecological justice at COP30 climate summit
- 20251116 – French only, Radio-canada, Manitoba : La Franco-Manitobaine Gabrielle Dupuis porte les voix du Sud à la COP 30
- 20251117 – Cabin Radio: Q&A: The NWT bishop at the COP30 climate conference
- 20251121 – Weekend Yellowknifer: NWT bishop increasingly focused on climate change issues
- 20251127 – Catholic Saskatoon News: Development and Peace-Caritas Canada reaffirms its commitment to global ecological justice at COP30 gathering in Brazil
- 20251204 – The Catholic Register: A Church ready to speak up for the planet
- 20251210 – Spanish only, CHHA 1610AM: Entrevista sobre la COP30 en Hoy en Toronto