Belém, Brazil – November 17, 2025
The first week of COP30 has been a dynamic mix of high-stakes negotiations and vibrant civil society engagement, and TrustAfrica has been at the heart of both. From the negotiation rooms to people-led spaces, our participation reflects a commitment to advancing Africa’s priorities on climate justice, sovereignty, and reparations.
State of Negotiations: Key Issues on the Table
The mid-COP plenary on November 15 marked a critical moment for Parties to review progress. Several contentious issues remain unresolved:
- 1.5°C & Ambition: With the global temperature overshoot beyond 1.5°C, countries are debating response strategies, including roadmaps and action frameworks. No firm agreement has emerged yet.
- Adaptation: Negotiations on global indicators and adaptation finance goals remain fragile.
- Just Transition: While momentum grows for a Just Transition Action Plan, disagreements persist on fossil fuels, trade measures, equity, and finance.
- Climate Finance: Finance continues to be the hardest issue, with debates on accountability, alignment of financial flows, and concerns over reliance on private finance under the Baku–Belém Roadmap.
Draft texts on the Global Stocktake, Gender, Loss & Damage, Just Transition, and the Adaptation Fund will move into Week 2, signaling another intense round of negotiations.
Civil Society Spaces: Building Power and Solidarity
Beyond the official halls, TrustAfrica has been deeply engaged in people-led spaces that amplify voices from the Global South:
- People’s Summit: Over 1,600 participants convened for three days of political education, culminating in a march and the submission of a People’s Declaration to the COP30 Presidency. Themes included systemic critique of extractive capitalism, feminist climate justice, Indigenous land rights, agroecology, and calls for reparations.
- Global South House: A thriving space for South-South collaboration, focusing on reparative climate finance, resisting climate colonialism, and advancing feminist political economy.
- Reparations Hub: Momentum is growing for a unified reparations framework linking Loss & Damage, historical accountability, debt justice, and global solidarity.
Strategic Partnerships
TrustAfrica is exploring a Memorandum of Understanding with Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) to integrate climate justice and gender perspectives into resilience frameworks. This partnership aims to strengthen civil society’s role in shaping climate solutions.
Looking Ahead to Week 2
The coming days will feature high-level ministerial negotiations on finance, ambition, and Just Transition. TrustAfrica will expand engagement at the Global South House, amplify reparations and food systems justice messaging, and ensure Africa’s priorities shape COP30 outcomes.
About TrustAfrica
TrustAfrica works to advance African agency in addressing critical challenges, including climate justice, governance, and equitable development. At COP30, we reaffirm our commitment to people-centered solutions that uphold justice and sovereignty.
