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Jonathan Watts and Fiona Harvey, The Guardian
In a frontpage story, the Guardian reports on UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’s speech at the “opening session” of the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, which formally begins next week. Speaking before heads of state of “more than 30 countries”, the UN chief described the 1.5C temperature limit as a “red line” and warned that even a “temporary overshoot” of the target would have “dramatic consequences”, the newspaper says. Agence France-Presse quotes Guterres saying that world leaders must confront the "moral failure and deadly negligence" of missing the 1.5C limit. Reuters also covers Guterres’ speech, including his appeal to counties to “lead, or be led to ruin”. Bloomberg and BusinessGreen also have the story.
The Press Association notes that the UN chief’s warning comes as the World Meteorological Organisation has confirmed that 2025 is “on track to be the second or third warmest globally”. The UN report notes that global average surface temperatures from January to August 2025 were 1.42C above pre-industrial levels – which amounts to a “slight drop” from 2024's record 1.55C. Sky News, Bloomberg, the Guardian and Le Monde also unpack the report’s findings. Le Monde looks at what has been “achieved” in the decade since the Paris Agreement was signed.
Isabel Debre and Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press
The leaders of China, the US and India – the “planet’s three biggest polluters” – are “notably absent” from a two-day gathering of heads of state ahead of COP30, reports the Associated Press. The newswire quotes Nadino Kalapucha, a spokesperson for the Amazonian Kichwa Indigenous group in Ecuador, saying: “[Donald] Trump’s stance affects the whole global balance. It pushes governments further toward denial and deregulation.” The New York Times reports that COP30 is the first time that the US will “not send any” top government officials to the annual UN climate summit. Reuters says that diplomats heading to COP are “bracing” for the possibility that the Trump administration may “seek to disrupt negotiations at the event”, even without officials showing up.
The Financial Times notes that, overall, “roughly 30” world leaders attended the “diminished” world leaders summit, which it notes is “about half” the number who attended COP29 in Baku a year ago. It says that “leaders of petrostates were notable by their absence”, including the presidents of Azerbaijan and Argentina. The newspaper reports that Latin American leaders “were openly critical” of the US president in their speeches. Politico quotes Colombian president Gustavo Petro saying “Mr Trump is against humankind”. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned in his speech of "extremist forces" undermining efforts to tackle change. It quotes Lula as saying the world needs a “roadmap” to “undo deforestation, overcome fossil fuels and mobilise the resources needed for those aims”. The South China Morning Post and Agence-France Presse also cover Lula’s address.
MORE ON COP30
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape tells the Guardian he is attending this year’s COP – after skipping it last year – after seeing “encouraging signs that developed nations are ready to deliver on climate finance and solutions”. Deutsche Welle reports on a “tidal wave” of COP30-focused “fake news and disinformation” which aims to “deflate any unified front on a rapid energy transition away from fossil fuels”. French president Emmanuel Macron urged world leaders to choose "multilateralism over isolationism”, “science over ideology” and "action over fatalism”, according to Agence France-Presse. Reuters has six charts exploring why 30 years of climate talks “tell a sobering story”. The Guardian, Conversation and New York Times all have explainers on what to expect from this year’s COP. (For more, see Carbon Brief’s “Interactive: Who wants what at the COP30 climate change summit”.)
Sebastian Rodriguez, Climate Home News
The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) – a $125bn fund to protect tropical forests – was officially launched by Brazil yesterday at the world leaders’ summit, Climate Home News reports. It notes that the “largest investment” at the fund’s launch came from Norway, which pledged 30bn krone ($3bn) in the form of loans over 10 years, providing certain conditions are met. It says that smaller pledges were also announced by Colombia ($250m), Netherlands ($5m for the TFFF’s secretariat) and Portugal ($1m). The UK, one of the TFFF’s initial supporters that has been involved in its design, said it “would not provide taxpayers’ money for the initiative”, Climate Home News notes. Agence-France Presse, Bloomberg and the Guardian also cover the launch of the fund. (For more on the TFFF, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth Q&A.)
Meanwhile, Reuters reports “exclusively” that it has seen a document which shows that France is leading a separate push – backed by Belgium, Germany, Norway and the UK – to mobilise $2.5bn for the Congo rainforest. It notes that the “conservation scheme…may steal some thunder from the flagship initiative of COP30 host Brazil”. Reuters says the document, written in French, was signed by all five nations on 6 November.
MORE ON FORESTS
In a speech at COP30, the UK’s Prince William praised the TFFF, according to the Times. Reuters reports Congo’s finance minister Christian Yoka saying his country is in talks with “European partners” for a debt-for-nature swap. The Times reports on opposition to the Brazilian government’s plans to create a new shipping channel in the Tocantins – “one of the largest clearwater rivers in the world”, which flows past Belém.
Nina Lloyd, Press Association
Speaking in Belém, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said the “cross-party consensus” on climate action in the UK has now “gone”, the Press Association reports. According to the newswire, Starmer added: “The UK is doubling down on the fight against climate change as an investment in future generations, yes, of course, but also, crucially, as an investment in improving the lives of working people here and now”. BBC News also covers the prime minister’s speech.
MORE ON UK
There is continuing coverage about the UK government’s proposals for a “pay-per-mile” tax for electric vehicle (EV) drivers in the upcoming budget. The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent, i newspaper and Scotsman also have the story. Richard Tice, the climate-sceptic deputy leader of Reform UK, tells Sky News that humans have “possibly” impacted the climate – but only “modestly”. [His claim is false.] The Scottish government has announced its strategy to reach its 2045 net-zero target, according to BBC News. The UK’s Advertising Standards Agency has banned adverts for ’very low emission’ wood-burning stoves on the grounds they are “misleading and not substantiated”, the Guardian reports. Bloomberg says the UK’s energy regulator has warned that a flood of speculative grid-connection applications from data-hub developers could be clogging up the connection queue and delaying projects that are ready to build.
Agence France-Presse
China’s vice premier Ding Xuexiang told the pre-COP30 leaders' summit that “the world must ‘remove trade barriers and ensure the free flow of quality green products’ to tackle climate change”, reports AFP. Industry news outlet Solarbe quotes Ding saying at the China-EU high-level dialogue on environment and climate earlier this month in Beijing that China has implemented a series of major initiatives to ensure its “dual-carbon” goals are achieved on schedule. Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged China to help fund “green technology and investment projects” during a meeting with Ding in Brazil ahead of COP30, reports the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP). Meanwhile, the US’s former climate envoy John Kerry tells the Shanghai-based news outlet Paper that the global climate agenda has “undergone a fundamental shift”. He calls on China to play a leadership role in the fight against climate change in the absence of the US, adds the outlet.
MORE ON CHINA
Bloomberg says that China’s thermal coal price has “climbed to its highest level this year”, partly due to the “trade truce” with the US and Beijing’s “softer stance on capping consumption of the dirtiest fossil fuel”. China’s State Council has released a new regulation aiming to “standardise ecological and environmental monitoring activities” and “enhance monitoring capacity” to support the construction of “beautiful China”, according to BJX News. In a comment piece for Caijing, Yao Zhe, global policy advisor at Greenpeace East Asia, says that the disruption from the US on global climate progress is becoming obvious and China “bears high expectations” from the world to take a leadership role. China Daily publishes a comment piece by its reporter Hou Liqiang saying that the world must recognise that “climate change is not a game” as COP30 kicks off next week. The Global Times publishes an editorial under the headline: “EU’s climate challenges point to need for green co-op with China.”
David Stanway, Reuters
There is continuing coverage of the damage caused by Typhoon Kalmaegi – the “year’s deadliest typhoon”, according to Reuters. The newswire notes that the typhoon has now reached Vietnam after killing 188 people and causing “untold damage” in the Philippines. The newswire carries quotes from Dr Ben Clarke, an extreme weather researcher at London's Grantham Institute on Climate Change and Environment, who says that Kalmaegi will be “more powerful and wett |
