Amsterdam, Netherlands – Greenpeace is calling for this year’s UN climate summit COP30 to deliver an emphatic response to the glaring ambition gap exposed in the UNFCCC’s synthesis report aggregating 2035 climate action plans.

The UNFCCC’s Synthesis report found that the submitted NDCs (which only represent 33% of global emissions), while progressing from previous NDCs, would lead to emission reductions of 11%-24% by 2035 compared to 2019.[1]

This is far short from the 60% reduction (for the same period) that countries committed to in the outcomes of the first Global Stocktake, agreed at COP28 in Dubai in 2023. 

The UNFCCC also said its report was based on the 64 new NDCs submitted before 30 September 2025, covering about 30% of total global emissions in 2019. It was not possible to draw wide-ranging global-level conclusions from such a limited data set, the UNFCCC added.

Jasper Inventor, Deputy International Programme Director Greenpeace International said: “This report is a fire alarm for the planet, but governments keep hitting the snooze button and falling back to sleep. COP30 must be the moment the world wakes up and acts before the house burns down.” 

“A decisive breakthrough at COP30 must now kick-off a new phase of accelerated and transformative climate action. The UN Secretary-General has already warned that a temporary overshoot of the 1.5°C limit is looming, but the hard reality is that national climate action plans are still lacking in ambition. Many of these plans are either late or, if submitted, consistently falling short on what is needed.”[2]

“A key driver of this repeated failure is the persistent lack of ambition from most developed countries. At the same time, some of the world’s major developing country emitters have set targets that fall well short of what is needed, further widening the global ambition gap.”

“At COP30, a global response plan is needed. Rising emissions, increasingly extreme weather and looming tipping points are our current reality. At COP30, the People’s COP, it’s time for safety and people to be placed first and foremost.” 

ENDS

Notes:

[1] UNFCCC’s NDCs Synthesis report

[2] Read the comments from UN Secretary-General Guterres

Contacts:

Aaron Gray-Block, Climate Politics Communications Manager, Greenpeace International, aaron.gray-block@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Alongside a few of my Greenpeace colleagues, I will be in Brazil at COP30 this year, where world leaders are tasked with ramping up climate ambition so that our planet can stay liveable. We will be there to make sure they act in the people and planet’s best interest, with ambition, courage, and climate justice.  

But it’s not just climate experts there. Lobbyists will be there too. But not just your regular ‘Big Oil’ lobbyist. Because COP30 will be in the Brazilian Amazon, we expect an even bigger presence from the livestock sector – including the world’s largest meat company, JBS, notorious for its links to deforestation and livestock expansion into pristine ecosystems like the Amazon Rainforest.

Agriculture is one of the biggest drivers of climate change, and the livestock industry in particular is the largest single source of human-made methane emissions globally. But “Big Ag” companies will be present at the COP to downplay their harmful impact – and to fool policymakers and COP attendees into believing that they are the solution to climate breakdown.

Methane: The superheating gas driving global heating

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas – 80 times stronger than CO₂ over a 20-year period.

Methane is responsible for nearly a third of global warming to date. And it’s rising fast. According to the Global Methane Budget, livestock-related methane emissions increased by 12.5% between the 2000s and 2020 due to more production (and consumption) of farmed animals.

Yet, recent studies find that fewer than 4% of climate news stories even mention animal agriculture as a source of emissions.

That’s no accident. The livestock industry spends millions on marketing, PR, and political lobbying to downplay its climate impact and delay real action.

COP30: Big Ag’s stage for greenwashing

With the help of Desmog’s recent greenwashing guide, here’s what we will be on the look out for from Big Ag at COP30 :

1. “Regenerative” and “Tropical” Agriculture – The Magic Dirt Illusion

The livestock industry wants you to believe that soils and trees where cattle are raised can not only erase emissions generated by the cattle, but even benefit the climate. Some go as far as arguing that livestock raised in the tropics can help drawing enormous amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere. 

In reality, methane from a very large number of livestock raised on an industrial scale far outweighs any carbon absorbed by pastures and soils. “Regenerative,” “tropical,” “carbon-positive” – it’s all the same old trick: a handful of soil to distract from a cloud of methane.

2. “No Additional Warming” Methane goal/target – The Great Escape

Behold the industry’s latest disappearing act! Big livestock lobbyists vanish their high levels of pollution. How? By simply shifting the baseline and claiming “no additional warming”.

But here’s the thing. Methane levels in the atmosphere are more than two and a half times higher than they were before industrialisation. Far from being benign, methane emissions continue to superheat the planet. 

The atmosphere doesn’t care about accounting illusions. It needs real action to cut methane emissions now.

3. “We Feed the World” – The Endless Appetite of Big Ag

Roll up, roll up! Big livestock’s favourite story: “We feed the world.”

In truth, hunger is on the rise in many parts of the world. Most industrially-produced meat and dairy doesn’t feed the hungry – it feeds global overconsumption in wealthy countries, filling snack aisles and fast-food chains with processed meat and dairy. 

The show isn’t about feeding the world. It’s about feeding profits.

4. “Progress and Development” – Yesterday’s World, Tomorrow

Behind the curtain, agribusiness giants pitch livestock expansion as “pro-jobs” and “pro-development.”

But the Global South already grows most of the world’s food – while profits flow North to powerful corporations and governments.

Big Ag’s version of “development” keeps local communities dependent and dispossessed.

5. “Fossil Fuels Are the Real Problem” – The Emissions Hall of Mirrors

And finally, Big Ag’s most audacious trick: deflection.

They point to fossil fuels, claiming, “We’re not the problem!” while continuing to emit huge amounts of methane every year.

Yes, fossil fuels are a major cause of global heating – but so is the mass production and export of industrial meat and dairy. Both must be addressed if COP30 is to deliver meaningful climate progress.

We will make sure to tell our world leaders to look past the greenwash and transform our food systems (for real). Join people all over the world calling for Just Transitions to Agroecology and add your name to show your support.

Jehki Harkonen is a Global Campaigner with Greenpeace Nordic

For many people, COPs sound like endless speeches and photo ops, and sometimes they are. But they are also one of the key tools we have to tackle the climate crisis together. With COP30 set to take place in Belém, on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, here are five things you should know.

1. What is a COP?

COP stands for Conference of the Parties, the annual UN climate summit held under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the international treaty established in 1992.

Currently, 198 countries participate in the UNFCCC, making it one of the largest multilateral bodies in the United Nations system. These countries meet at COPs to negotiate how to limit global heating, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and support communities already affected by climate impacts.

Inside a COP you will find world leaders, government negotiators, scientists, Indigenous leaders, youth activists, journalists and, yes, lobbyists. It is complicated, messy and often frustrating. But there is no other global forum where both the smallest island nations and the world’s largest economies sit down at the same table to hammer out agreements.

Think of it as a giant global group project. Not everyone does their homework, a few actively try to sabotage the assignment, but we still need everyone involved to pass the course.

2. Why COPs matter for global solutions

Climate chaos does not stop at borders. Droughts in one region can drive up global food prices. Melting glaciers in the Himalayas threaten communities thousands of kilometres downstream. Heatwaves in South Asia kill people who did little to cause the crisis.

This is why COPs exist. They are the only place where governments can, at least in theory, cooperate to solve a problem that no single country can fix alone. Multilateralism might sound like a wonky word, but it simply means countries working together. And when it comes to climate, global problems need global solutions.

Without COPs, the alternative is each country fending for itself in a planetary emergency. We have already seen how dangerous that can be.

3. What COPs have achieved so far

It is easy to feel cynical, but history shows COPs can deliver when pressure builds.

• COP21 (Paris, 2015): The Paris Agreement: governments agreed to keep global warming “well below 2°C” and aim for 1.5°C, a planetary boundary that must not be crossed. Imperfect, but a turning point.
  
• COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, 2022): The long-fought Loss and Damage fund was created to help vulnerable countries hit hardest by climate disasters. Campaigners had pushed for this for decades.
  
• COP28 (Dubai, 2023): For the first time, a COP decision named fossil fuels as the root of the climate crisis. We called it historic but warned: “Leaders must now commit to a full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase-out.”
  
• COP29 (Baku, 2024): Climate finance dominated. Governments pledged new funding, but we criticised the outcome as woefully inadequate given the scale of climate impacts. Delay means disaster.

None of these victories happened by chance. They came from people power: Indigenous leadership, climate-vulnerable countries pushing back, campaigners refusing to give up, and millions of supporters demanding action.

4. COPs, lobbyists and people power

We’ll be real: COPs are often criticised as talk shops where corporate lobbyists outnumber climate-vulnerable countries. At COP28, fossil fuel lobbyists actually outnumbered almost every national delegation. Meat and dairy corporations also showed up to defend factory farming.

This is why civil society, Indigenous Peoples, youth and activists need to be inside the halls. They are there to hold governments accountable, to challenge greenwash, and to amplify voices that too often go unheard.

Greenpeace goes to COPs not because we believe politicians will suddenly save the day, but because without relentless pressure, progress is even less likely. It’s people power that makes change possible.

5. One COP fact that shows why they matter

Here is one striking number. According to the UN, current national climate pledges still put us on track for up to 3.1°C of global warming this century. But to achieve the 1.5°C limit, countries need to fully implement and strengthen their pledges, ensuring they cut emissions by about 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels and go even further by 2035.

That is the difference between widespread collapse of ecosystems and a fighting chance to stabilise the climate. It shows why COPs are still needed. The decisions made there can literally add or remove gigatonnes of carbon pollution from the atmosphere. The difference is life-changing for millions of people, for forests, for biodiversity, and for every future generation.

Why COP30 is critical

This year’s COP, the 30th meeting, will take place in Belém, Brazil, at the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. That alone makes it significant. The Amazon is home to extraordinary biodiversity and millions of people, including many Indigenous communities. It is also one of the planet’s most important carbon sinks, absorbing billions of tonnes of CO₂ every year. Scientists warn the Amazon is nearing a tipping point, where it could start releasing more carbon than it stores.

COP30 will also take place 10 years since the Paris Agreement was reached, representing a key assessment moment. Governments are expected to bring stronger climate pledges aligned with the 1.5°C limit, the dangerous threshold scientists warn must not be reached. In plain language: this is the year when leaders must step up to the challenge Paris laid down.

The stakes could not be higher. COP30 is the moment for governments to show courage rather than failure. It’s time to move from negotiation to implementation.

And while mistrust is understandable, hope is vital. Change does not come from leaders alone, it comes from people acting everywhere: marching in the streets, voting, suing polluters, protecting forests, sharing their stories, pushing for justice.