World leaders face Amazon with vow to keep climate promises

The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference—Cop30—is underway in Belém, a northern Brazilian city surrounded by the vast green forests of the Amazon. As climate change around the world poses a clear threat to human life, everyone from heads of state to scientists, environmentalists to young activists—gathered here with the same question: "Are we really moving forward with the times?"

According to the ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap’ announced at last year’s Cop29 (Baku, Azerbaijan), a target of at least US$1.3 trillion in climate finance has been set each year to help developing countries. This time, negotiators in Belém are busy finding ways to ensure the implementation of that promise.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the plan for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) in his opening speech. Its aim is to create a special fund of $125 billion to encourage countries to protect tropical forests. Although an initial pledge of about $5.5 billion was received during the mid-term phase of the conference, it is still far short of the target.

Technology, ICT and AI: A new era for the climate agenda

The highlight of this year's Cop is to make technology and artificial intelligence (AI) a key axis of climate solutions. Technology has been a limited presence at previous Cops, but it has become mainstream in Belém.

'Science, technology and artificial intelligence' has been included as one of the themes in the official agenda of the conference. The Green Digital Action (GDA) Hub has been inaugurated—which will provide green digital solutions, information resources and technical assistance to developing countries.

The AI ​​Climate Institute (AICI), which will develop training, open-source datasets and low-power AI models for developing countries, has been launched with the assistance of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

In the agricultural sector, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have jointly announced the development of an open-source AI language model and forecasting system called ‘Aim at Scale’—which will support 100 million farmers worldwide by 2028.

Guyana has demonstrated its AI-based forest monitoring technology, which uses real-time sensor and satellite data to monitor forest health.

Why this technology-centric initiative is important

The challenge of climate change today is completely data-driven. Data, sensors, satellites and AI have now become essential in all areas of agriculture, water, health, disaster forecasting. This is a kind of ‘leap-frogging opportunity’ for developing countries—that is, the opportunity to enter the era of modern technology directly without old infrastructure.

For a country like Bangladesh, AI-based early warning systems, coastal monitoring and agricultural production forecasting could bring big changes.

However, there is a caveat—the digital divide is still a big reality. The carbon footprint and energy costs of technology are also complex issues. There are also risks of economic and technological dependency. That is why Cop30 has emphasized open source, skilled human resources and universal use of technology.

Significance for Bangladesh

The ongoing discussions in Belém are very important for coastal and climate-vulnerable countries, including Bangladesh. It is now very important for the country to keep an eye on whether a new grant-based financing framework is being created and what risk-sharing mechanisms are being developed to encourage the private sector to participate.

Similarly, whether the rights of local communities and indigenous people are protected in the TFFF governance is also an important issue for Bangladesh. Because if these rights are not ensured in international forest financing, marginalized communities are likely to be harmed.

Monitoring of technology-based adaptation projects is also essential—because ensuring that the announced funds are actually reaching people in vulnerable areas will ultimately determine their effectiveness.

As of November 13, the countries participating in the talks have not yet reached a consensus on the final funding announcement and forest financing proposal. These decisions will depend on the ministerial meeting and the negotiation phase next week.

On the other hand, in the city of Belém, indigenous people and civil society activists are demanding ‘real action’ through protest flotillas and human chains on the river. Their message is that no declarations are needed, but effective measures are needed now.

In all, the fight for funding, rights, technology and survival is going on together in Belém around Cop30. How well these four elements move forward in a coordinated manner will ultimately determine the path to a sustainable future. And the lungs of the world—the Amazon—will be a silent witness to this entire process.

Al-Amin Dewan from Cop30, Belém, Brazil