The Road to COP30

While the path to global net zero remains fraught with obstacles and uncertainties, the road to COP30 is clearer than ever- quite literally. The four-lane highway that is being carved through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazonian rainforest to facilitate delegate access to conference later this year serves as a darkly ironic symbol of the environmental destruction the summit aims to address.

While deeply disappointing, this contradiction is perhaps not as surprising as it should be. Following the sparsely attended COP29, there has been growing scepticism around the effectiveness of the COP structure and its ability to deliver meaningful climate action. This sentiment appears to be affecting the leadership behind COP30, with its CEO, Ana Toni, diverging from the ambitious rhetoric of previous presidencies and instead urging the world to temper expectations. Stating that COPs are not "silver bullets", Toni stressed that climate action must be driven and implemented throughout the year, not just during these annual gatherings.

As such, events like London Climate Action Week in June become crucial platforms to benchmark progress and reinvigorating climate action, congregating key voices ahead of COP30.

With seven months to go before the COP30, progress will have to hinge on cross-sector collaboration and sustained commitment across the global climate community- going above and beyond government commitments. With aid budgets cut across Europe and the USA, the question of how to scale climate finance for developing countries and mobilise the $1.3 trillion needed per year by 2035 will be one to watch…