Briefing Series: What Congress Needs to Know About COP30

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing series on what Congress needs to know about the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Briefings covered key issues at play in international climate negotiations and why they matter for U.S. efforts to address climate change.

The briefings in this series are:   

What’s on the Table for the Negotiations

Keeping it Cool: International Efforts to Reduce Emissions from Refrigerants

International Trade and Climate Policy

Rapid Readout: What Congress Needs to Know About COP30: Outcomes and What’s Next

 
 
See the video   Read the highlights

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about what Congress expected during the United Nations climate negotiations in Belém, Brazil (COP30). Hundreds of negotiating sessions and thousands of events took place over the course of the two-week U.N. session.

Panelists explained key issues on the negotiating agenda, including determining metrics for climate adaptation and charting the path toward international climate finance goals. The briefing described the role of the COP30 Brazil Presidency and its forest and agriculture priorities, unpacked the evolving role of the United States in this international policy-making process, and highlighted which U.S. stakeholders were expected at COP30—from businesses and nonprofits to state and local governments. It will also previewed the realm of possible outcomes from COP30 and what they would mean for U.S. climate policy.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2025 United Nations climate change conference is composed of five meetings, which all take place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): The 30th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP30) to the convention, the 20th meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP20), the 7th meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA7), the 63rd session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA63), and the 63rd session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI63). These meetings are collectively referred to as COP30 and are taking place in Belém, Brazil, this year.
  • The Brazilian government chose Belém for COP30 due to the city’s proximity to the Amazon Rainforest, reminding COP30 attendees of nature's significant role in mitigation, adaptation, and livelihoods. 
  • There is still a role for U.S. policymaking in the COP process, but it is shifting toward the subnational and local level. Additionally, U.S. businesses are playing an active role in COP, since they can learn how rules and norms set by other governments will impact global markets.

 
 
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Seventy-one countries, including the United States, are part of the Global Cooling Pledge, a commitment initiated at the 2023 U.N. climate summit (COP28) to address the greenhouse gas emissions associated with refrigerators and air conditioning. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing that explored the imperative of reducing these emissions, especially the superpollutant hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), while also ensuring that people are kept safe from the impacts of extreme heat. The Global Cooling Pledge calls for a 68% reduction in emissions by 2050, increased availability of and access to sustainable cooling solutions by 2030, and increased energy efficiency of air conditioners. 

This briefing explored progress made towards these goals—from nature-based and passive cooling to low global warming potential refrigerant technologies. Panelists also discussed the Senate-ratified Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which is phasing down HFCs. The briefing left policymakers with takeaways on what to expect at COP30 related to sustainable cooling and extreme heat as well as the economic and public health benefits of addressing refrigerant emissions domestically.

Key Takeaways

  • Cooling is essential for food security, protection from extreme heat, health, and prosperity and opportunity.
  • Cooling currently requires 20% of all electricity used globally. Sixty percent of projected 2050 emissions from cooling can be reduced through joint action on three measures: passive cooling, energy efficiency, and the phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These three areas are key parts of COP28’s Global Cooling Pledge, which calls for a 68% reduction in cooling-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. 
  • Solutions to transition to sustainable refrigerants include: improving life-cycle refrigerant management, supporting service sector readiness, and marrying energy efficiency and refrigerant transition financing.

 
 
See the video   Read the highlights

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing about the nexus of global trade and climate change. International trade is an integral part of the U.S. economy—the United States is the world’s largest importer and second-largest exporter of goods. While trade presents economic opportunities, it also comes at a cost. The global movement of goods via water, air, and land accounts for 20 to 30% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Climate change is also disrupting global supply chains, increasing costs, and damaging vital infrastructure. 

This briefing explored multilateral efforts to reduce trade-related greenhouse gas emissions through the lens of the upcoming international climate negotiations (COP30). Panelists discussed climate-related policies being proposed in the United States and abroad, as well as the broader geopolitical trade environment–including tariffs–impacting these efforts. Speakers also described collaborations in the maritime shipping sector, which accounts for 90% of all goods moved. Attendees left with an understanding of the different ways trade was expected to influence COP30 negotiations as well as opportunities for additional international cooperation that could advance, rather than detract from, global climate goals.

Key Takeaways

  • Climate trade policies impose fees or other charges at the border on emissions associated with the production of imported manufactured goods. These policies include border carbon adjustments, carbon import fees, or pollution fees. 
  • China’s recent success in clean technology manufacturing is the result of consistent policy incentives in both the supply and demand for these products as well as structural advantages such as preexisting industrial clusters.
  • The maritime sector emits around one billion tons of CO2 per year, which is 2 to 3% of total global emissions. These numbers are expected to grow in the future. Efforts to decarbonize shipping (most notably by implementing clean fuel standards) will deliver both climate and conventional air quality benefits.

 
 
See the video   See the Rapid Readout Page

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a Rapid Readout about the major outcomes from this year’s United Nations climate negotiations in Belém, Brazil (COP30). This Readout unpacked where key negotiations landed on issues including next steps on international climate finance, climate adaptation metrics, the intersection of climate and trade, and the implementation of carbon markets. 

The Readout reviewed the status of updated country commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase adaptation efforts and the next steps in the global effort to assess progress towards collective climate goals. Speakers unpacked the U.S. presence at COP30, including federal, subnational, and private sector roles in the proceedings; highlighted next steps following COP30; and explained what it all means for U.S. climate policy.

Key Takeaways

  • The 2025 UN climate summit (COP30) produced the Belém Political Package, which primarily includes ways for countries to continue dialogue on addressing the “ambition gap” in nationally determined contributions, finance flows from developed countries to developing countries, global adaptation indicators, the trade-climate nexus, and a just transition to clean energy.
  • Other key announcements made at COP30 include the launch of Brazil’s Tropical Forest Forever Facility, the launch of a global carbon market coalition to harmonize carbon pricing, a Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management, and a Blue Package on ocean action.
  • Roadmaps to phase out fossil fuels and to reverse deforestation were not included in the final COP30 package. Instead, the COP30 Presidency pledged to develop a fossil fuel roadmap over the course of the next year, including through a conference co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands in April 2026 followed by a progress report at COP31. 
  • The Local Leaders Forum brought together more than 3,000 subnational leaders from around the world. Discussions focused on methane reduction, nature-based solutions for climate resilience, and accessing international climate finance at the local level. Local government representatives also made a formal pitch to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to strengthen multilevel governance.  
  • The United States as a party to the UNFCCC has not been the most consistent partner, but the federal government has been present and made important contributions to the negotiations up until COP30. There is a role for Congress as well as states, tribes, cities, and other stakeholders in international climate diplomacy. This engagement continues to grow in importance as conversations increasingly focus on concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve adaptation and resilience.

 

For more information, contact Dan O'Brien at [email protected] or (202) 662-1880.

 

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