BOGOTA, Colombia

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva formally inaugurated the highly anticipated COP30 United Nations climate summit in Belem on Thursday, welcoming more than 60 world leaders to the Amazonian city.

In his opening address, Lula sharply criticized global conflicts and political diversion, saying: "Strategic rivalries, (and) armed conflicts divert attention and drain the resources that should be used to confront global warming."

Lula then targeted climate denial and the spread of misinformation, stating that "extremist forces manufacture false news to obtain electoral revenue and perpetuate in future generations a model that must be overcome." He described this status quo as one that "imprisons future generations in a model of inequality and destruction of nature."

The host president called COP30 the “COP of the truth,” challenging leaders to prove their "courage" and capacity for "facing reality." He urged attendees to overcome the "lack of connection between diplomatic circles and reality," arguing that while people may not understand "emissions or metric tons of carbon," everyone knows "the effects of contamination."

Lula called for decisive action and greater implementation of the Paris Agreement, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, warning that "many people are not fulfilling the agreement."

The 197 member countries of the UN Climate Convention (UNFCCC) will meet in plenaries and contact groups. Delegations will review texts to develop consensus-adopted decisions. Because all resolutions require unanimous approval from every country—as there is no voting—negotiations often become prolonged.

The summit, which will run until November 21, expects to draw over 60,000 participants from 160 countries, with international organizations and delegations arriving daily.

Notable leaders in attendance include Gabriel Boric (Chile), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Emmanuel Macron (France), Pedro Sanchez (Spain), and Keir Starmer (United Kingdom). The most significant absences, however, are those of Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump, both of whom declined Lula’s invitation.