COP30 in the Amazon: Saving the Planet, One Cocktail at a Time
TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 17 Nov 2025
Raïs Neza Boneza – TRANSCEND Media Service
Ambition, Irony, and the Amazon’s Uneasy Role in the Climate Show
10 Nov 2025 – Welcome to Belém, Brazil — the lush, humid heart of the Amazon, and now, the world’s latest stage for the annual theatre known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30.
Yes, the climate crisis has finally come home to the rainforest. The irony is delicious: People gather in the lungs of the Earth to discuss how not to choke it.
The Amazon Gets a Makeover — for Two Weeks
Delegates, CEOs, and negotiators descended early — some so enthusiastic they arrived before the pavilions were even nailed together. Picture the world’s climate elite dodging flying nails while sipping açai juices and discussing “systemic transformation.”
By the time the Amazonian cocktail party kicked off, Belém had officially become the world’s largest open-air networking event disguised as a cry for planetary survival.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly delivered an “optimistic” speech — which, translated from international protocol tone, means it was utterly devoid of actionable content. Optimism is the new policy tool, apparently. If we just believe hard enough, the ice caps might refreeze out of sheer inspiration. That’s diplomatic code for “full of hope, short on detail.” As hope become the new energy source. If we generate enough of it, maybe it’ll power the next generation of electric cars.
The Billion-Dollar Bandage
The headline acts this year is Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) — because nothing says “eternal preservation” like a catchy acronym and a six-billion-dollar startup pitch. The fund’s logic is simple: for every public dollar invested, the private sector will swoop in with four more. Because, of course, the same markets that burned the planet will now save it — for a modest return on investment.
We are told this isn’t charity, it’s business. The forest will pay dividends, just like your favorite oil company — except this time, with slightly less oil (hopefully).
Former World Bank treasurer Kenneth Lay — not to be confused with Enron’s Kenneth Lay, though the parallel is almost poetic — assures us this is a “Republican-friendly” proposal. In other words, the rainforest has finally been rebranded as a bond portfolio.
President Lula da Silva, ever the showman, announced that one-fifth of the resources will go directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities. A noble promise — though history reminds us that when billions start flowing, the trickle reaching the forest floor tends to evaporate quickly in the tropical heat of bureaucracy and corruption.
Still, Lula’s larger point stands: for the first time, the Global South is taking center stage in defining the forest agenda. That alone deserves applause — preferably before the microphones cut out or another G7 minister proposes a “public-private-multi-stakeholder-carbon-resilience accelerator” instead.
Forests don’t need better branding; they need protection. And while the world’s leaders debate how to price that protection, loggers are already collecting their next paycheck.
The Road from Baku to Belém — and Straight into Bureaucracy
Brazil’s glossy “Baku to Belém Roadmap” also made an appearance. It promises to turn $300 billion into $1.3 trillion to fight climate change. How? Through the ancient art of financial alchemy, apparently.
Civil society critics were unimpressed. Oil Change International called it out for pushing “private finance-first initiatives” that only deepen Global South debt. In plain terms: it’s like giving someone a credit card to pay for the fire you started in their house. But hey, at least it’s “innovative.”
Even the friendlier NGOs praised the roadmap’s ambition while gently wondering if it came with actual directions. One summed it up best: “We need a plan for turning these words into reality.”
Good luck finding that plan among the buffet tables and PowerPoint slides.
Saving the World, Brought to You by Corporate Sponsorship
Meanwhile, the same year saw $869 billion funneled into oil and gas by the world’s biggest banks — because fossil fuels are still considered “too profitable to fail.” Weapons spending, Lula noted, has doubled that of climate action.
Translation: we’re still better at funding apocalypse than averting it.
Yet in Belém, the mood remains upbeat. Delegates pose beside giant ferns, declaring this COP “historic,” as if saying it often enough might make it true. The rainforest listens quietly, waiting to see if anyone will actually plant a tree before boarding their private jet home.
The Final Act
And so, COP30 opens with speeches about hope, funds about leverage, and cocktails about “synergies.” The rainforest stands as the backdrop — both a symbol and a witness — to humanity’s annual attempt to sound serious about saving itself.
If we’re lucky, maybe this time, amid all the panels, pledges, and press releases, someone will remember that forests don’t need investment products — they need protection.
Until then, pass the açai martini and let’s toast to another “historic” COP. The Earth may be burning, but at least the networking opportunities are green.
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Raïs Neza Boneza is the author of fiction as well as non-fiction, poetry books and articles. He was born in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Former Zaïre). He is also an activist and peace practitioner. Raïs is a member of the TRANSCEND Media Service Editorial Committee and a convener of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment for Central and African Great Lakes. He uses his work to promote artistic expressions as a means to deal with conflicts and maintaining mental wellbeing, spiritual growth and healing. Raïs has travelled extensively in Africa and around the world as a lecturer, educator and consultant for various NGOs and institutions. His work is premised on art, healing, solidarity, peace, conflict transformation and human dignity issues and works also as freelance journalist. You can reach him at rais.boneza@gmail.com – http://www.raisnezaboneza.no
Tags: Belém - Amazon, Brazil, COP30, Climate Change, United Nations
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