-1.png)
Welcome to the COP30: Road to Belém blog, your source for timely updates, insights, and stories from the Under2 Coalition and Climate Group across Brazil this November. Follow along as we highlight regional climate action and share developments leading up to COP30. ⬇️
,Saturday, 22 November
COP30 fell short on delivering the clear commitments and mechanisms the world urgently needed – but there are signs of momentum driven by “coalitions of the willing.”
Read the full response from Champa Patel, Executive Director of Governments and Policy, to understand what failed, what progressed, and where action must go next.
Reaching net-zero depends on turning national commitments into local action. At Electrification for All: Subnational Action, Private Investment, Global Change, speakers highlighted how cities, regions, and provinces, working with the private sector, are where NDCs become reality.
“It can’t just be policy at the subnational level. It needs to be legislation and law… We need to move further and faster together, keeping communities at the centre,” said Nehmat Kaur.
Subnational governments are pioneering renewables, energy access, and green industrial transitions, showing how local innovation and partnerships translate national pledges into projects, jobs, and emissions reductions.
Nehmat Kaur speaking at 'Electrification for all'
Monday, 10 November
The Under2 Coalition and Consórcio Nordeste signed a strategic cooperation MoU to cut greenhouse gas emissions and aim for net zero by 2050. The agreement also covers renewable energy, clean transport, sustainable land use, climate finance, and the exchange of experiences to boost adaptation and resilience.
Governor of Piauí and president of the Northeast Consortium, Rafael Fonteles
COP30 has kicked off in Belém, and subnational leaders are ready to lead the charge.
Through the Under2 Coalition, we’re amplifying their priorities:
- Showcasing real results – how states and regions are already driving climate action.
- Unlocking finance – giving local governments access to the funds they need to scale solutions.
- Elevating local leadership – making subnational implementation central to global climate progress.
COP30 Brazil
📍São Paulo
Friday, 7 November
As we head toward Belém, the focus on ensuring this transition is just and equitable will only grow. We have the technology, the economic case, and the willingness. As one corporate speaker put it: “there’s no business on a dead planet.” What’s needed now from COP30 are clear, detailed plans for how we get there.
COP26's President, the Rt hon Lord Alok Sharma, urged continued leadership in sustainable finance, even amid political headwinds, reminding us that “political rhetoric doesn’t change the science.”
Rt hon Lord Alok Sharma
Climate Group's CEO, Helen Clarkson, reminded businesses of their role in accelerating climate action: "What businesses say to governments matter," and encouraged them to keep engaging with policy makers at all levels of governments, from national to local level, to outline what it is their sectors need in order to implement their energy transitions.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group speaking on a panel
While the city of Rio put the spotlight on local leaders this week, São Paulo has been the hub of gatherings for the business and finance sectors.
Climate Group is at the Sustainable Innovation Forum, where governments, investors, and private-sector practitioners shared practical solutions and outlined their demands and anticipations for COP30.
Sustainable Innovation Forum panel
📍Rio de Janeiro
Wednesday, 5 November
On the final day of the Local Leaders Forum at COP30, states, regions, and local governments presented three key offers to national leaders – reinforcing the vital role of subnational action in delivering global climate goals:
- Partner on national climate goals to drive just, resilient transitions.
- Unlock and channel climate finance through 2,500 local projects, focusing investment where it’s needed most, especially in the Global South.
- Advance multilevel collaboration to make COP a platform for real implementation and accountability.
These commitments show how states and regions are turning ambition into impact – cutting emissions, strengthening resilience, and improving lives in communities around the world.
_1-1.jpg)
Local Climate Action Summit closing plenary
“States and regions are the true engines of implementation, translating ambition into action every day,” Nehmat Kaur, Director of the Under2 Coalition.
Nehmat Kaur, Director of Under2 Coalition and Subnational Governments
States and regions from the Under2 Coalition and Regions4 have endorsed the COP30 Local Leaders Forum statement in Rio, reinforcing their shared commitment to collaborative, ground-up climate action toward a fair, net-zero future.
The European Union has officially joined CHAMP – the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships, reaffirming its commitment to work with cities and regions for more ambitious climate action.
“CHAMP offers a vital framework to strengthen cooperation across all levels of governance. Ambitious action requires all hands on deck,” said Teresa Ribera, Vice-President of the European Commission.
The momentum for continues for states and regions on Day 3 of the COP30 Local Leader's Forum in Rio.
Tuesday, 4 November
Today in Rio de Janeiro, we hosted the first-ever Global States and Regions Summit, part of the Local Leaders Forum co-hosted by COP30 and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Leaders from Ucayali to South Australia, California to West Cameroon showcased how states and regions are delivering the climate action the world needs – proving that local innovation drives global impact.
As we head toward COP30 in Belém, one message stands out: subnational leadership is essential to turning climate commitments into reality
-2.jpg)
Climate Group CEO, Helen Clarkson, spoke with COP30 High-Level Champion, Dan Ioschpe about how regional leadership can accelerate climate action and ensure a just, inclusive transition ahead of COP30 in Belém.
-1.jpg)
Helen Clarkson and COP30 High-Level Champion, Dan Ioschpe
Dr Champa Patel, Executive Director of Governments and Policy at Climate Group, reminded everyone that their work is effective: “States and regions must proceed into Belém with a sense of confidence.”
Champa Patel moderating a panel at the Under2 Coalition Global States & Regions Summit
Antha N. Williams, Lead of the Environment Programme at Bloomberg Philanthropies, announced the launch of the Under2 Coalition Subnational Solutions report – which highlights a snapshot of subnational action driving net zero.
Antha N. Williams announces the Under2 Coalition Subnational Solutions report
Inspired by the energy of subnational leadership gathered in the city this week, UN Climate Adviser Selwin Hart said; “ let’s take the spirit of Rio to Belém". He pushed for states and regions to exert their power both domestically and globally, especially when national governments falter; “raise your voices and leverage your enormous domestic influence.”
Selwin Hart addresses the auidence at the Global States & Regions Summit opening plenary
Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, urged states to keep the Paris goal alive, reiterating the cost of going backwards. “You can hold the line when national governments are not delivering. True competitiveness lies in clean innovation, resilience and investment certainty.”
Laurence Tubiana at the Global States & Regions Summit
The first-ever Global States and Regions Summit kicked off with an inspiring plenary, spotlighting how governors, premiers, and regional presidents are stepping forward with transformative solutions to address converging global crises.
Moderated by Helen Clarkson, OBE, CEO of Climate Group, alongside Champa Patel, our Executive Director of Governments and Policy and Antha N. Williams, Environment and Climate Lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies, the session set the tone for a day dedicated to urgent implementation and collective solution-seeking on the road to COP30.
Helen Clarkson on stage at the Global States & Regions Summit
Monday, 3 November
Today, at our Under2 Coalition Governor's roundtable on day one of the Local Leaders Forum, subnational leaders came together to turn ambition into action.
From Cross River’s local climate desks to West Kalimantan’s green growth strategy and Maryland’s just transition plan, states and regions shared how climate delivery is already happening on the ground.
As momentum builds toward COP30 in Belém, one message rang clear: finance, leadership, and implementation must meet where climate action happens – locally.
Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary for Natural Resources
The States of Alagoas and Rio Grande do Norte signed the Under2 Coalition MoU at today’s roundtable – underscoring the growing strength of subnational climate leadership, and marking an especially meaningful moment here in Brazil ahead of COP30.
State of Alagoas signing the Under2 Coalition MOU
_0-1.jpg)
Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Norte signing the Under2 Coalition's MOU
Director of the Under2 Coalition and Subnational Governments, Nehmat Kaur, was interviewed by CNN Brasil on the role of subnationals at COP30.
Cross River State Commissioner Oden Ewa announced the creation of a climate desk in every local government council to drive greener budgets, strengthen communities, and create green jobs.
Oden Ewa of Cross River State, Nigeria
The Under2 Coalition Governor's roundtable is underway in Rio on day one of the COP30 Local Leader's Forum, and subnational leaders are taking centre stage.
From California to Santa Fe to Rio, states, regions, and cities are driving up to 80% of global climate action – and proving that the decisive decade belongs to them.
Sunday, 2 November
We’ve arrived in Rio this week for the start of our Road to Belém and the first milestone on the journey to COP30.
As part of the Local Leaders Forum, we’re leading two key events – the Under2 Coalition Governors’ Roundtable on 3 November and the Global States & Regions Summit on 4 November.
This week, hundreds of governors, ministers and business leaders from around the world will explore what it takes for states and regions to lead on climate – from scaling clean energy and delivering a just transition to protecting nature and building resilience.
Local Leader's Forum at the Museum of Modern Art Rio