BELÉM, Brazil, October 29, 2025—Experts from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) will participate in the 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP30, taking place in Belém from November 10-21. They are available to provide media comment and expert analysis on key issues and outcomes of the negotiations.
CIEL experts focus on international legal obligations related to climate action, as well as the intersection of climate justice, human rights, and accountability for the fossil fuel industry.
At COP30, CIEL’s key priorities include:
- Grounding climate action in international law, as recently clarified by the International Court of Justice;
- Advocating for structural reform of the UNFCCC to ensure effective, transparent, and inclusive decision-making;
- Pursuing accountability and access to remedy for those harmed by climate impacts;
- Exposing dangerous distractions — such as carbon markets, offsets, carbon capture and storage, carbon removal technologies, marine and solar geoengineering — and highlighting their risks and restrictions;
- Advancing rights-based climate action for a just transition, protecting civic space, and defending environmental human rights defenders;
- Calling for an urgent, equitable, funded, and comprehensive phaseout of all fossil fuels, as fundamental for a just transition
For more information:
The Verdict Is In: To Comply with the Law, COP30 Must Deliver
Setting Ambition At COP30: Climate Goals Will Sink Without a Fossil-Free Ocean
COP30: Why Protecting Defenders Is Central to Climate Justice
CCS and AI: A New Escape Hatch and Vehicle for Misinformation
These are part of a series unpacking the law, politics, and power shaping COP30—and what it will take to deliver climate justice. Check the CIEL blog section for more.
CIEL Experts at COP30 in Belém
Rebecca Brown — CIEL President and CEO, specialized in international human rights law, climate justice, and gender equality. In Belém November 9– 12.
Lili Fuhr — CIEL Director of Fossil Economy, specializing in the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, petrochemicals (plastics & agrochemicals), and false climate solutions including carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon removal technologies, solar geoengineering and marine geoengineering. Member of the Steering Committee for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
In Belém November 11– 18. Follow Lili on BlueSky or LinkedIn.
Johanna Gusman — CIEL Senior Attorney, focusing on legal pathways to fossil fuel phaseout, human rights, and just transition, including intersections with the ITLOS and ICJ Advisory Opinions. In Belém November 9-22. Follow Johanna on LinkedIn.
Erika Lennon — CIEL Senior Attorney, specializing in grounding climate action in international law, including the ICJ’s recent climate change advisory opinion, reform of the UNFCCC, especially decision-making, climate finance, dangerous distractions including carbon markets and offsets, and fossil fuel phaseout. In Belém November 8– 21. Follow Erika on Twitter, BlueSky, or LinkedIn.
Camilla Pollera — CIEL Program Associate, focusing on human rights and climate justice, including gender-responsive climate action, the protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs), and the right to a healthy environment. In Belém November 7-21. Follow Camilla on BlueSky or LinkedIn
Nikki Reisch — CIEL Director of Climate & Energy, focusing on the role of fossil fuels in the climate crisis, climate litigation and accountability, climate Advisory Opinions from international courts and tribunals, ISDS/Energy Charter Treaty, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and false climate solutions, including carbon capture and storage (CCS). In Belém November 14– 21.
Lien Vandamme — CIEL Senior Campaigner, specializing in the intersection between human rights and climate change, reform of the UNFCCC to make it more effective and inclusive, and accountability and reparations for climate harm. Follows negotiations on loss and damage and the response to the ambition gap left by Nationally Determined Contributions. In Belém November 7–21. Follow Lien on BlueSky or LinkedIn.
CIEL Experts Following COP30 Remotely
Bruna Campos — Senior Campaigner on Offshore Oil and Gas, specializing in policies to halt the expansion of fossil fuels in the ocean, and to phase them out. Covers the climate-biodiversity-ocean nexus. Follow Bruna on LinkedIn and BlueSky.
Sébastien Duyck — CIEL Campaign Manager for Human Rights and Climate Change and Senior Attorney, specializing in the intersection between human rights and climate change, including promoting the right to a healthy environment, civic space, and public participation. Follow Sébastien on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Bluesky.
Rachel Kennerley — CIEL Senior International Carbon Capture Campaigner, specializing in false solutions to the climate crisis, including ‘blue’ hydrogen, carbon capture and Storage (CCS) and carbon removal technologies. Follow Rachel on Bluesky, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Media Contact at COP30 in Belém
In Belém November 8-21: Maria Frausto, Communications Director + 1 202 569-8107 (Signal and WhatsApp), [email protected]
Media Contact in CET (Geneva)
Niccolò Sarno, Media Relations Specialist + 41 22 506 80 37 (Signal and WhatsApp), [email protected]