Montréal, November 11, 2025 – On the occasion of the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), to be held this year in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21, the Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement (CQDE) and Lawyers Without Borders Canada (LWB Canada) are joining forces for climate action based on climate justice and international solidarity.
Thanks to this collaboration, LWB Canada will have a representative on site to follow the negotiations, document the discussions, and support civil society participation.
At the upcoming COP, countries will be called upon to review their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. In this context, we will join our voices with those of social movements, Indigenous peoples, youth, and environmental defenders, who are calling for ambitious measures and legally binding commitments.
The decisions taken at COP30 will have a decisive impact on the global climate trajectory. That is why coordinated mobilization by civil society is essential to enforce international law and compel states to act in accordance with their obligations.
International law at the heart of climate responsibility
Recent developments in international law confirm that the climate crisis engages the legal responsibility of states.
Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice issued its landmark advisory opinion on the obligations of states in relation to climate change, reaffirming that governments have a duty to take all appropriate measures to protect the climate system from GHG emissions.
A few months earlier, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights also issued a groundbreaking advisory opinion, recognizing in particular that states have immediate and concrete obligations to reduce their emissions, preserve biodiversity, and guarantee the right to a healthy environment.
These two opinions strengthen the international legal framework and support the idea that, in order to comply with their obligations, states must implement serious mechanisms focused on preserving life and protecting human rights.
Collective strength: coordinating civil society to enforce the law
For a number of years now, slow multilateral progress and flaws in the climate governance system have revealed the limitations of a system based on goodwill. Compliance with international obligations on climate, human rights, and environmental justice can only be guaranteed through coordinated and sustained mobilization.
Supported by positive developments in international law, civil society will play a leading role in steering COP30 towards a framework for public and private action that guarantees ecological sustainability. In this sense, and through the prism of human rights and the strengthening of the climate legal framework, pressure from civil society will compel states to ensure climate financing that meets needs; recognize the differentiated impact of climate change on the most vulnerable populations; promote rights, recognize and promote the effective role of women, Indigenous peoples, and young people in the planning and implementation of climate solutions; and reform global environmental governance to ensure climate justice.
Key issues to watch at COP30
COP30 will be a key moment in the international climate calendar. In particular, countries will need to plan a review of their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), i.e., their commitments on emissions and adaptation. This update process will involve analyzing the alignment of their policies with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Alongside the ambition to demonstrate the level and terms of financing for the “loss and damage” fund (LDF), adaptation measures will also be on the agenda. As it stands, the action plan for achieving the target of $300 billion annually by 2035 remains unclear. The same is true for the share of public funds. COP30 will therefore be the forum where the mechanisms for the effective implementation of this financing, both quantitatively and qualitatively, will have to be defined. Over and above the amounts allocated, it is essential to ensure that the prescribed allocations are predictable, sufficient, accessible in the long term, and do not increase the debt of countries in the Global South.
Also on the agenda will be plans to phase out fossil fuels, including the establishment of an operational, practical, and comprehensive framework for a just transition.
Finally, the role of the Brazilian presidency of the Conference will also be worth watching. In this regard, it is fitting to highlight the symbolic importance of the geographical location of COP30. By organizing it in the heart of the Amazon, Brazil wanted to set the tone and reinforce the message concerning the interdependence between the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, with forest protection being one of its key demands.
For fair, equitable, and responsible climate action
The climate crisis calls for a scientific, political, and legal response.
It requires states to translate their promises into serious action, while civil society organizations will demand accountability and assert their responsibility.
By joining forces at COP30, civil society will reaffirm its commitment to promoting climate governance based on law, justice, and solidarity. With current commitments proving woefully inadequate, climate action relegated to the background, and the effectiveness of multilateral spaces legitimately called into question, COP30 will have a duty to return climate to centre stage and echo a concerted international mobilization.
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