From Rio-92 to COP30: A timeline of climate diplomacy
On the Road to COP opens as a space for short notes on COP30. To launch the column, we look back at the key milestones of the global climate agenda, spotlighting the major international conferences where Brazil has played a role — from Rio-92 all the way to COP30 in Belém. Dive in!
A landmark moment in the global environmental agenda. Launch of Agenda 21 and the conventions on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Desertification.
The Berlin Mandate: formal recognition that the voluntary commitments adopted by developed countries were insufficient. This marked the start of negotiations that culminated in the Kyoto Protocol.
The first legally binding international treaty requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Inclusion of environmental goals in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Review and reaffirmation of the Agenda 21 commitments.
Brazil launched its national climate policy, establishing a voluntary commitment to cut projected emissions by 36.1% to 38.9% by 2020. (Law No. 12.187 of 29 December 2009)
Global political recognition of the need to limit the rise in average global temperature to no more than 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. A turning point that began to guide subsequent climate agreements.
Renewal of the Rio-92 commitments. Laid the groundwork for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Adoption of the Paris Agreement, replacing the Kyoto Protocol. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the target of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C, preferably 1.5 °C.
A scientific warning of the urgency of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Highlighted the impacts already being felt and the rapidly narrowing window for action.
Mass youth-led mobilisations, spearheaded by Greta Thunberg, demanding concrete government action.
Txai Suruí, a young Indigenous woman of the Paiter Suruí people (Rondônia, Brazil), became both the first Brazilian and the first Indigenous person to speak at the official opening of the conference. A powerful call for climate justice and for the leadership of Indigenous peoples.
The first Global Stocktake of the Paris Agreement targets. With a focus on energy transition and climate finance.
Dubbed the delivery COP. Aims to prioritise the commitments already made rather than negotiate new ones. Main objective: to showcase tangible results in the implementation of the Paris Agreement through national plans (NDCs).
