The 30th annual UN climate talks have ended, with a last minute grasp at forest action and fumble on a fossil fuel phaseout.
The final agreement
The first week of the climate talks in the Amazon showed cautious optimism with proposed plans of forward motion on a fossil fuel phase out and forest protection.
At the halfway point, civil society turned out with Indigenous Peoples and allies to march in the streets of Belém, demanding change and calling on their governments to step up climate ambition during the final week of negotiations.
Organized by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), the march brought together Indigenous people and activists in the streets of Belém, the host city of COP30. Carrying the message “We Are the Answer,” the demonstration marked “Indigenous Peoples’ Day at COP30,” promoting climate debate and the defense of the rights and territories of Indigenous peoples.
But the passion people showed on the streets did not translate into courage in the hallways of the negotiations. The first COP in the Amazon rainforest was long awaited as a turning point, to deliver an action plan to end forest destruction by 2030 and a Global Response Plan to address the 1.5°C ambition gap. But, despite an objection raised during the final plenary by Colombia and other Latin American countries over a lack of progress in climate mitigation, the final agreement produced neither result and did little to advance climate finance overall or push developed countries to commit public funding for the years ahead.
Greenpeace joined other NGOs and allies to participate in a silent banner drop in the Blue Zone, with a banner reading 1.5 Under Threat, Time to Act!
What started with strong hope and promise ended without any actionable roadmaps to end forest destruction and the burning of fossil fuels. Geopolitical divisions and the interests of billionaires, climate polluters and nature destroyers again spoke louder than the thousands of people calling for action in the streets of Belém.
Resist. Rise. Renew.
At the end of COP30, Greenpeace sends a message from the front of the COP30 venue with a banner reading “Resist – Rise – Renew”.
After three years in a row of having to navigate tight guidelines for peaceful protest and action at COPs, people power in Belém met the moment. From creative art performances to marches, civil society relentlessly made its presence felt both inside and outside of the COP venue.
In the 10th anniversary year of the Paris Agreement, Greenpeace constructed an Eiffel Tower replica made up of cardboard boxes with the sign ‘Fragile. Handle With Care’ to symbolise how the 1.5°C limit agreed in Paris is under threat.
Brazilian artivist Mundano delivered, in partnership with Greenpeace a striking art installation to demand world leaders take bold action for forests at COP30. Mundano wrote the message “COP30: Rise for Forests” with transparent ink, and used ashes taken from forest fires in the Amazon to reveal the text.
After a dramatic pull and tug, COP31 next year will be in Turkey in the coastal city of Antalya, and share the presidency with Australia.
COP30 set a high bar, only to disappoint in the end, but the weak outcome does not do justice to the full story of what happened in Belém: the biggest Indigenous participation at a climate COP and the powerful protests organised by civil society, demanding action for people and planet that will persist until climate justice is delivered.
At the end of the first week of COP30, Greenpeace joined thousands of people at the Global Climate March in Belém. Greenpeace carried messages like “Respect the Amazon” and “Make Polluters Pay”. The Global Climate March was organised by civil society organisations and Indigenous Peoples groups from several parts of the world.
On the surface, it looked like progress: a new chapter for innovation in East Asia. But behind that moment was an environmental cost the world isn’t paying enough attention to.
In the new SystemShift podcast episode, Greenpeace East Asia looks at the real-world impacts behind NVIDIA’s record-breaking valuation, and asks the question: who is paying the price for the AI boom?
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang shares soju and a bonding toast with Lee Jae‑yong (Samsung Electronics) and Chung Eui‑sun (Hyundai Motor Group) in Seoul, October 2025. Used courtesy of CNBC (2025).
For years, SK Hynix and Samsung in Korea and TSMC in Taiwan have powered NVIDIA’s rise. Together they have built the backbone of the global AI industry, producing the chips that fuel data centers and supercomputers everywhere. These companies have turned East Asia into the world’s electronics workshop, efficient, ambitious, and unstoppable.
But this success hides an uncomfortable truth. It is coming at a high environmental cost.
As the demand for AI chips grows, so does its appetite for electricity. According to Greenpeace East Asia’s 2024 report Chipping Point, Taiwan’s total electricity demand is expected to rise by 12–13% by 2030, driven largely by the rapid expansion of semiconductor manufacturing. In South Korea, by 2050, the Yongin semiconductor hub alone is projected to require more than 25% of the entire metropolitan area’s power demand, placing significant strain on the national grid. Yet fossil fuels still make up more than 50% in both places.
To meet this rising demand, governments are turning back to fossil fuels and even nuclear power.
Greenpeace East Asia and 450 citizen plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit against the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), seeking to revoke the government’s April approval of six LNG power plants in the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex. Outside the administrative courthouse, activists staged a symbolic performance around a model of an LNG power plant holding up a banner “No more fossil gas, Go renewables”
The dangers of fossil fuels expansion are not abstract. To catch up with the surging electricity demands from the AI industry, Taiwan is proposing an expansion of several gas power plants. However, this has raised increasing public health concerns. September 2025, a gas leak explosion at Hsingda Power Plant in the city of Kaohsiung during its ignition testing, sparked frustration and concern among local residents. Greenpeace Taiwan’s research also found that generally people living near power plants and petrochemical production facilities are in high-risk zones for air pollution exposure. They identified 191 facilities across 13 counties and cities in Taiwan, and claimed high-risk zones cover almost 40 percent of the population, including 1.15 million children and 1.59 million elderly residents.
People living on the front lines of AI industry development are paying the price for the world’s digital transformation.
The silence of power
Meanwhile, NVIDIA, now the world’s first 5 trillion dollar company, has yet to set a target to cut emissions from its suppliers. According to Greenpeace East Asia, more than 80% of its total carbon footprint comes from its supply chain, much of it based in East Asia. Yet there is still no clear commitment or action to help suppliers transition to renewable energy or improve local conditions, according to Greenpeace East Asia’s latest ranking.
This silence speaks volumes. It tells us that the “partners” in Asia are being treated not as equals in progress, but as stepping stones toward global AI dominance.
Greenpeace campaigners across the region are seeing the human side of this injustice. They see communities living near new power plants, children facing potential exposure to polluted air, and families fighting for their right to clean energy. These stories have not been heard enough.
You can listen to the latest episode of our System Shift podcast, where we talk about what happens when AI’s progress collides with sustainability, and how we can build a digital future that does not destroy the real one.
True innovation is not measured by speed or market value. It is measured by care, for people, for the planet, and for the generations to come.
Join us for Clean AI, Clean Future by signing the petition below.
Johannesburg, South Africa – The G20 Summit wrapped up with South Africa showing welcome leadership as host, but no progress on commitments to tax the super-rich or for G20 countries to advance on their support of the UN Tax Convention negotiations for fairer global tax rules.
Fred Njehu, Fair Share Global Political Lead, Greenpeace Africa, said: “It is indefensible that even after the G20 report had clearly spelt out that inequality is on a sharp rise, G20 leaders are not taking action to correct it. Billionaires are getting richer while billions, especially in Africa and the global majority, are left behind as their standard of living declines and public systems crumble amidst the escalating climate crisis.”
G20 leaders must put wealth tax discussions back on the table and show real commitment to global tax justice. They need to engage constructively in the UN Tax Convention to deliver a truly historic treaty, one that finally rebalances taxing rights and ensures the super-rich and major polluters pay their fair share for the damage they cause.”
As the United States prepares to assume the G20 presidency in 2026, it is imperative that global leaders demonstrate leadership and ambition in addressing inequality and ensuring that the wealthiest pay their fair share.[1]
ENDS
Notes:
[1] The G20 report by economist Joseph Stiglitz shows that between 2000 and 2024 the world’s wealthiest 1% captured 41% of all new wealth, while just 1% went to the 50% of humanity at the other end of the scale.
Contacts:
Ferdinand Omondi, Communications and Storytelling Manager, Greenpeace Africa, +254 722 505 233, fomondi@greenpeace.org
Belém, Brazil – What started with strong hope and promise ended without actionable roadmaps to end forest destruction and the burning of fossil fuels, as geopolitical divisions again showcased the disconnection with people calling for COP30 climate action.
The first COP in the Amazon rainforest should have delivered an action plan to end forest destruction by 2030 and after 2035 climate action plans fell dangerously short, COP30 should also have delivered a Global Response Plan to bridge the 1.5°C ambition gap. It did neither. Nor did it deliver a meaningful step-up in climate finance.
The final day of the COP was marked by an objection raised by Colombia and other Latin American countries over a lack of progress in climate mitigation, leading to a temporary suspension of the closing plenary, before the COP30 outcome was formally adopted.
Carolina Pasquali, Executive Director, Greenpeace Brazil said: “President Lula set the bar high in calling for roadmaps to end fossil fuels and deforestation, but a divided multilateral landscape was unable to hurdle it. This was a crossroad – a properly funded path to 1.5°C or a highway to climate catastrophe – and while many governments are willing to act, a powerful minority is not.”
“This weak outcome doesn’t do justice to everything else that happened in Belém. The biggest Indigenous participation in a climate COP, but also the marches and protests organised outside led to the demarcation of 14 lands – four of those in the very final stage of the process, securing over 2.4 million hectares of land for its original peoples in Brazil.”
“Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights, tenure and knowledge and the rights of people of African descent, were also formally acknowledged – a confirmation that can help shift future discussions. The two roadmaps and a strong finance outcome would have provided a historic result to raise ambition, but the work now continues.”
Jasper Inventor, Deputy Programme Director, Greenpeace International said: “COP30 started with a bang of ambition but ended with a whimper of disappointment. This was the moment to move from negotiations to implementation – and it slipped. The outcome failed to match the urgency demanded. The 1.5°C limit is not just under threat, it’s almost gone. It’s this reality that exposes the hypocrisy of inaction of COP after COP after COP.”
“COP30 didn’t deliver ambition on the 3Fs – fossil fuels, finance and forests. No agreed pathway to phase out fossil fuels, no concrete plan to protect forests and no meaningful step-up in climate finance. But the millions globally and the tens of thousands on Belém streets show that hope lives outside the conference walls as communities continue to resist and rise up for our people and our planet.”
Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: “At a moment when the world needs bold urgent action on emissions, this COP30 outcome feels like we’re treading water in a rip tide. These negotiations were derailed by inadequate climate finance, weak leadership from G20 nations – particularly developed ones – and the heavy hand of fossil fuel interests. The fossil fuel industry managed to dodge a phase out roadmap, but COP30 saw more countries than ever back it, and made clear that the momentum and pressure is rising.”
“After two weeks of fierce negotiations and calls for a robust adaptation finance goal to deal with escalating climate impacts, developed countries only agreed to a pathetically weak target. COP30 did little to advance climate finance overall or push developed countries to commit public funding for the years ahead. Developed countries again kept their wallets shut despite the fact trillions in public finance could be unlocked by taxing the biggest fossil fuel and super-rich polluters. That would be climate finance in action.”
An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: “Forests are at the crossroads of climate change and biodiversity loss and the 1.5°C solution is reliant on protecting them. Belém needed an action plan to end forest destruction by 2030 to deliver the GST decision. Many parties supported this but all we got was voluntary engagements – an open invitation for industries like big agriculture to keep banking dirty profits from forest destruction. The truth about the ‘COP of truth’ in the Amazon is that it delivered very little for forests.”
Johannesburg, South Africa – Greenpeace has called on the G20 to ramp up their plans to cut emissions and make progress on global tax reform by taxing the super-rich to unlock public finance for climate mitigation, adaptation and social justice.
Ahead of the G20 Heads of States Summit, Greenpeace Africa activists also painted ‘Tax The Super-Rich’ on a major road leading to the Johannesburg Expo Centre, where world leaders will be gathering.
The action comes at a pivotal moment as the UN climate conference COP30 in Belém, Brazil, winds down after difficult negotiations on efforts to transition away from fossil fuels, end forest destruction and to progress climate finance for vulnerable countries. In Nairobi, the latest round of UN Tax Convention negotiations, which could unlock vital climate funds, have shown little interest in the proposal for a global minimum tax on the super-rich. The G20 Summit in South Africa now offers President Cyril Ramaphosa a critical opportunity to lead globally on climate justice, including advancing discussions on a wealth tax and raising ambition among G20 leaders.[1]
Fred Njehu, Fair Share Global Political Lead, Greenpeace Africa, said: “Public momentum to tax the super-rich is fast growing – the political will has to follow with concrete actions. Billionaires in Africa and beyond are getting wealthier by the day, while billions are struggling with rising cost of living and escalating climate crisis. Making the wealthiest pay their fair share is essential to fund the fight against the climate crisis, mobilise domestic revenues for public services, and advance sustainable development. The G20 Summit is President Ramaphosa’s opportunity to turn words into action and show that South Africa – and Africa – can lead the world, and secure a place in history.”
New analysis published in a recently released G20 report shows that between 2000 and 2024, the world’s wealthiest 1% captured 41% of all new wealth, while just 1% went to the 50% of humanity at the other end of the scale. An Oxfam report found that over the last five years in Africa, the five richest African billionaires have increased their wealth by 88%.[2][3]
At the INC-3 of the UN Tax Conventions in Nairobi this month, Greenpeace called for stronger commitments to secure much-needed public finance for climate mitigation, nature protection, and sustainable development by ensuring the super-rich and corporate polluters pay their fair share in taxes. These measures could deliver on the COP29 finance commitment for developed countries to mobilise at least US$300 billion per year by 2035, and to scale up to at least US$1 trillion in public finance in line with needs.[4][5]
Cynthia Moyo, Lead Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa, said: President Ramaphosa must seize this G20 moment to back a Fair Share approach that makes the super-rich and big polluters pay what they owe. We cannot keep socialising costs while privatising profits. African citizens deserve transparency and a tax system that truly serves them. We cannot fund a green and equal future with a broken tax system. Tax justice is climate justice and without bold action on a global wealth tax and making polluters pay, the resources needed to protect people and the planet will remain out of reach.”
Ahead of the G20 Summit, Greenpeace International launched a new report, revealing the insufficient climate ambition in new 2035 emissions targets (Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs) of the G20 countries. The report, 2035 Climate Ambition Gap, revealed the 2035 climate action plans of the G20 would yield just a 23-29% cut in emissions towards the 60% global reduction that is needed.
Attending COP30 in Belém, Tracy Carty, Climate Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: “When the G20 countries – responsible for 80% of global emissions – deliver collective climate action plans that fall dangerously short, the world has a problem. Given their historic responsibility for emissions and greater financial capacity to act, developed G20 countries should be out front, cutting emissions far in excess of the 60% global average needed. The choices of G20 countries, especially developed ones, will make or break the 1.5°C goal, and it’s time to hold them to account.”
Do you know how many people in the world are dependent on small-scale fisheries for their livelihoods?
According to recent research, it’s roughly 492 million. Small scale fisheries provide jobs for 60 million people, which represents 90 percent of total fisheries employment worldwide; and four of every ten people engaged in small-scale fisheries are women. Small-scale fishers play a critical role in sustaining food security and livelihoods, and also in protecting the ocean and climate. Grounded in sustainable practices and traditional knowledge, small-scale fisheries feed the world while caring for healthy fish stocks and marine biodiversity. They also protect vital ecosystems in the fight against climate change, like mangroves, that capture carbon.
Greenpeace Africa activists, together with Joal villagers and local fishermen express their commitment to sustainable fishing after the departure of foreign pelagic trawlers.
Yet the very communities sustaining the ocean are being pushed to the frontline of its destruction.
From Patagonia to Senegal, Thailand, and the Indian Ocean, coastal communities are facing escalating pressures. In Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia, the rapid spread of salmon farms pollutes waters, harms local ecosystems, and displaces artisanal fishers, while driving a global demand for fishmeal and fish oil. In Senegal and across West Africa, industrial fishmeal and fish-oil plants are stripping coastal waters of wild fish, pushing communities into deepening food insecurity and eroding long-standing livelihoods. In Thailand, overfishing and illegal practices are depleting coastal fish populations, just as communities fight destructive industrial mega-projects. And across Sri Lanka and India, repeated maritime incidents have caused severe environmental damage and long-term social and economic distress. Climate change is also having devastating impacts on vulnerable regions and hitting harder coastal communities through sea level rise, increasingly intense heatwaves, cyclones, and loss of fishing grounds and tourism opportunities.
Addressing the threats their communities are facing, coastal representatives from around the world said:
“The destruction of endangered marine species and the depletion of essential ocean ecosystems are increasing at an alarming rate. This threatens both the sustainability of the sea and the survival of the coastal communities that rely on it,” said Selvaratnam Dilaxan, Founder of the Happy Voice Hub, community member, Mannar Pesalai, Sri Lanka.
“Aquatic animals belong to everyone. Everyone has the right to access aquatic resources, but no one has the right to destroy the future of aquatic resources – those are juvenile fish and young aquatic animals,” said Piya Thedyam, President of the Federation of Thai Fisherfolk Association.
“The situation is critical: if we do nothing, the sea risks becoming a liquid desert,” said Abdou Karim Sall, President of the Marine Protected Area’s Management Committee.
Activists and youth organizations hold a protest against illegal gold mining activity and display a banner with a message “Our Seas, Our Rights” in commemoration of the World Fisheries Day in Kampung Bulo, Sangihe Islands, Indonesia.
Industrial exploitation of the ocean that harms both people and the planet.
These threats are not isolated incidents, they are all different pieces of the same system. Across countries, small-scale fishers and coastal movements are proving that they are the solution by asserting control over their waters, protecting fishing grounds from industrial pressure, demanding transparent governance, and strengthening the resilient livelihoods that safeguard the future of the ocean. Coastal communities’ knowledge and sustainable practices are essential to conserving the ocean’s richness, an ocean we all depend on as it provides half of the oxygen we breathe, regulates climate, and feeds billions of people around the world.
Supporting small-scale fishers’ call to action, Nichanan Tanthanawit, Global Project Lead for Ocean Justice Campaign, Greenpeace South East Asia, said:
“Today, we honour the leadership of coastal peoples, and we stand with them in urging governments to recognise coastal communities as rights holders in all coastal and marine matters, from one coastline to another. We call for policies that uphold accountability and transparency in fisheries management and safeguard the communities who protect the ocean, because a fair and just ocean is the future we must protect.”
On World Fisheries Day, A Call to Governments: recognize and center coastal communities
This World Fisheries Day, Greenpeace is calling on global governments to recognize and center Indigenous and coastal communities, including small-scale fishers, in decision making about oceans, supporting the global small-scale fishers call to action. Recognising coastal communities rights and knowledge, and centering them in decision making about the ocean is vital to achieving global biodiversity goals and safeguarding our shared future. Standing with coastal communities is crucial to help ensure their demands reach local and global decision-makers and that they are centered in decision making about the ocean, including during COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2026, where the future of ocean protection, restoration, and governance will be shaped.
Laura Bergamo is the Global Communications and Engagement Lead for Ocean Justice at Greenpeace Southeast Asia
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