COP30 Could Be Make-or-Break for Food and Climate Solutions

The next chapter in the history of our planet’s climate will be written next week, as high-level negotiators, policymakers, civil society leaders, business representatives, farmers, chefs, and other climate experts gather for the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP30. The two-week conference begins Monday, November 10, in Belém, Brazil.

Will the story of COP30 be one where global leaders step up and embrace the urgent, bold, collaborative policy actions we desperately need to protect our planet and food and agriculture systems? Or will it be a tale of more incremental promises and empty long-range commitments that won’t come due till it’s too late?

I sound dramatic—but, honestly, the challenges facing our global climate systems are dramatic, and we need dramatic action to set us on a better course. This year is on track to be one of the three warmest years on record. The other two? 2024 and 2023. According to the 2025 Global Tipping Points Report, rising greenhouse gas emissions have already pushed the planet past one “point of no return” and we’re on the brink of heading past several more.