COP30 Can and Must Redefine the Rules
BONN, Germany, June 26, 2025 – The UN climate talks in Bonn concluded after two weeks with no sense of urgency, as countries struggled to make meaningful progress ahead of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, this November. Years of insufficient progress under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have fueled growing calls for reform and legal action to address the worsening climate emergency. COP30 can and must redefine the rules, according to the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
The talks occurred amidst alarming escalations in violations of international law, human rights, and democracy on top of the accelerating climate crisis. The contradiction between Germany’s role as host of international climate negotiations and its complicity in human rights abuses in Gaza and crackdown on peaceful protests undermined the legitimacy of the talks. In this context, it is all the more worrying that once again, the UNFCCC Secretariat failed to uphold the principles of the United Nations as it unjustifiably censored civil society’s messages related to the unacceptable human costs of the siege in Gaza.
States missed a key chance to protect the rights of rightsholders taking part in climate talks, especially their right to peacefully protest. While there was some recognition of the need to ease visa access and make accommodation more affordable, no real concrete steps were taken. In a bright spot, the decision was made to make the agreement between the COP host country and the UN, which includes crucial human rights protections, public and accessible. Brazil, as COP30 host, should release this agreement early so everyone can understand what is being done to safeguard their rights.
Despite some States’ ongoing resistance to gender justice and intersectionality, there was a glimmer of cooperation toward a new Gender Action Plan, with proposals to increase the protection of Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders.
Negotiations on just transition saw some progress—raising hopes that COP30 delivers a decision that would accelerate the consideration of human rights dimensions in the transformation of the economy required to phase out fossil fuels. However, the unresolved finance gap from COP29 continues to cast a long shadow over the prospects for any meaningful and equitable progress at COP30.
The prolonged lack of urgency and meaningful progress over more than 30 years of UN climate negotiations has sparked mounting demands for deep UNFCCC reform. Midway through the talks, over 200 civil society and Indigenous Peoples groups, including CIEL, issued a United Call for an Urgent Reform of the UN Climate Talks to tackle the root causes of the climate crisis and its real-world consequences on communities with a focus on greater accountability, transparency, effective decision making, and an effective policy ending corporate capture.
The time has come for climate negotiations to be bound by legal obligations and grounded in scientific facts, rather than shaped by the interests of those profiting from the status quo. Under Brazil’s leadership, COP30 can and must redefine the rules.
Lien Vandamme, Senior Campaigner at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said:
“Another session of the UN climate talks has come and gone, while the climate crisis accelerates and frontline communities bear the heaviest brunt. For 30 years, the negotiations have failed to deliver climate justice, undermined international law and allowed the fossil fuel industry to shape the rules. The absence of majority decision-making enables the interests of a few to hold negotiations hostage, while a lack of accountability creates a false sense of impunity. Yet, effective multilateralism remains the only way to achieve a just transition and tackle the multiple global crises we face. Urgent and deep reform of the UN climate talks is critical. This year is key, with several international courts working to clarify States’ obligations in the context of climate change. At COP30, all States must unite and make a bold choice: to embrace fossil-free climate multilateralism rooted in justice and legal obligations.”
Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said:
“It’s no wonder that the ambitious climate action we need–a full phaseout of all fossil fuels without loopholes–remains elusive when corporate influence looms large and civic space continues to shrink. The UNFCCC must act to address conflicts of interest and finally end the fossil fuel and other polluting industries’ decades-long grip on climate negotiations. Though acknowledging challenges to civil society participation, States missed the opportunity to take tangible steps to strengthen the participation of rightsholders in the process – a crucial step toward achieving the effective and ambitious action needed to prevent catastrophic climate collapse.”
Camilla Pollera, Program Associate at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said:
“For the first time, we are seeing efforts to support the comprehensive protection and participation of Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders (WEHRDs) through initiatives that build leadership capacity, remove barriers to meaningful engagement, and strengthen protection mechanisms – enabling them to fully contribute to climate action. However, persistent pushback against intersectionality and gender-just climate language in the negotiations is deeply concerning, and the COP30 Presidency’s silence on gender in its public communications offers little reassurance. As we look ahead, it is crucial that positive momentum on the Gender Action Plan is not lost on the road to COP30. ”
Courts Set to Clarify Obligations of States Related to the Climate Crisis
While progress in the UNFCCC negotiations remains elusive, attention is increasingly turning to international courts. Ahead of COP30, two key courts, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) are set to issue Advisory Opinions on the obligations of States related to the climate crisis–obligations which do not start or end with the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement.
First up, on July 3, the IACtHR is expected to release a groundbreaking Advisory Opinion clarifying the obligations of States under international human rights law in the face of the climate emergency. CIEL experts expect the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to reaffirm that climate change threatens the full spectrum of rights for present and future generations and gives rise to concrete obligations under human rights law, reinforcing State and corporate duties to prevent the actions driving climate change and to remedy its destructive consequences.
Media contact
Niccolò Sarno, CIEL Global Media Relations: [email protected] + 41 22 506 80 37