COP30 calls us to mobilize

The next UN Conference on Climate Change, COP30 , will take place from 10 to 21 November in Brazil , in the Amazonian city of Belém do Pará , and is already being defined by Brazilian President Lula as the «COP of truth» .

Thirty years have passed since the first Conference of the Parties – the one that in 1995 inaugurated the negotiating process for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Thirty years later, the truth is hard to accept: global greenhouse gas emissions have not decreased , but have increased by a third .

What is COP?

The COP (Conference of the Parties) is the annual summit where the signatory countries of the UN Climate Convention meet to decide how to combat global warming. It is in these forums that national commitments to reduce emissions , funds for the most vulnerable countries, and international agreements are defined, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set the goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C , and seeking to limit it to 1.5°C .

But that objective now appears to have failed. According to the most recent data, exceeding the 1.5°C threshold now seems inevitable . UN Secretary-General António Guterres dramatically admitted this during a speech in Belém:

“We have failed,” he said, urging governments not to “remain prisoners of the interests of the fossil fuel industry.”

Fatalism and media silence

Yet, despite the gravity of the situation, COP30 risks being almost overshadowed. The mainstream media covers it "just enough," preoccupied with geopolitical crises, wars, and scandals. There's a sort of collective resignation , a climate fatalism that's numbing us.
Yet, nothing is more urgent than the climate: the survival of future generations depends on what is decided today .

Italy's commitment is written in the Constitution

In 2022 , Italy introduced an important innovation in the Constitution , adding a paragraph to Article 9 , which now reads:

"The Republic protects the environment, biodiversity, and ecosystems, also in the interests of future generations."
It is a principle that commits our country not only to protecting the environment, but also to actively participating in international negotiations to reduce emissions and accelerate the ecological transition.

The United States and the fossil fuel counteroffensive

Meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, President Donald Trump , having returned to the White House, has once again taken the United States out of the Paris Agreement , dismantling many of the climate policies introduced by the previous administration.
His line is clear: boost oil, gas, and coal production , even though they are the main contributors to the greenhouse effect. Trump and the Republicans aren't stopping there: they're threatening states that choose decarbonization and imposing massive purchases of fossil fuels on Europe, using customs duties as a lever.

The COP of truth

COP30, hosted in the heart of the Amazon, will therefore be a decisive test. It will either be the conference of awakening, or the conference of definitive failure.
Lula wanted it to take place there, where the Amazon rainforest—the planet's lungs—is ravaged daily by fires and deforestation. A symbolic choice, but also a warning: there will be no more time for delays and half-measures.

The “COP of Truth” presents us with an essential question: do we really want to save the planet, or do we prefer to continue living with the catastrophe until it's too late?

COP30 calls us to mobilize.

It is time for civil society to reclaim its role, for associations, movements, schools, local communities and independent media to make their voices heard.

Because governments will not move unless they feel the pressure of a vigilant and informed public opinion.

Tweets from leaders are not enough: we need a global, grassroots mobilization , widespread across social networks, alternative media, environmental groups, student collectives, independent podcasts, blogs, and radio.

Every space of social communication must become a space of climate resistance .
Every word, every image, every story can help raise awareness, break down the wall of indifference and fatalism.