NGOs and companies expect Brazil to double its commitment to decarbonization at COP30.

São Paulo, Sep 4 (EFE) - Environmental NGOs and energy companies expressed their expectation Thursday in São Paulo that Brazil will redouble its commitment to decarbonization and the end of fossil fuels during the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in Belém in November.

Participants in the Third Latin American Green Economy Forum, organized by EFE, emphasized that approximately 90% of Brazil's electricity comes from renewable sources, but affirmed that this does not exempt the South American country from its responsibility to further advance the energy transition.

In this regard, Suely Araújo, public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory, said she is confident that the Brazilian government will revive the initiative to end fossil fuels, the main source of polluting emissions, in the final declaration of the COP.

Expectations for Brazil's role at COP30

That reference first appeared at COP28 in Dubai in 2023, but was removed at the last conference, held in Baku.

"Brazil must lead the negotiation effort and bring some kind of progress to the table, with greater detail regarding the move away from fossil fuels," Araújo said.

At the same time, the activist pointed out the contradiction posed by the COP30 host government's plans to explore oil fields in a maritime area located some 500 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon River, a place of great ecological fragility.

The international perspective and the role of the private sector

However, former Peruvian minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, global climate and energy leader at WWF International, affirmed that Brazil has the "multilateral capacity" and "ability" to bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion.

Pulgar-Vidal said the mandated objectives of this COP30 are "modest," but that the country can offset this by focusing on implementing what was agreed upon at previous conferences and on the need to engage the private sector.

Specifically, business representatives present at the forum admitted that governments can create incentives, but that decarbonizing the economy will ultimately depend on the will of companies and their economic interests.

Business initiatives towards energy transition

Edson Guimarães, CEO for Latin America of Lots Group, a logistics company with sustainable practices, stated that it is now "possible" to transport goods using biofuels at costs similar to those of diesel.

"Leadership needs to come from the private sector, because an energy transition in logistics is already possible," he stated, before highlighting that Brazil is the sixth largest emitter of polluting gases in the world in the transportation sector.

Along the same lines, Silvia Cabral, director of regulation, marketing, and sustainability at Norte Energia, said that the global goal of tripling renewable energy by 2030 is "bold," but possible if a series of measures are taken.

Challenges to achieving climate goals

Among the requirements for implementing this goal, Cabral highlighted the need to invest in the storage of renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power, and to expand the electricity transmission network, as well as to learn from the past in matters of environmental licensing.

“We have lessons learned that need to be brought to the table,” the expert stated.

The 3rd FLEV is sponsored by ApexBrasil, Brazil's export and investment promotion agency; Norte Energia, the concessionaire of the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant; and Lots Group, a company that provides solutions for decarbonizing the logistics sector.

It also has the collaboration of Imaflora, the Climate Observatory, and IBMEC University, in whose auditorium the meeting is being held. EFE

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Main photo: Suely Araújo, public policy coordinator for the Climate Observatory, speaks during the opening of the Third Latin American Green Economy Forum (FLEV) on September 4, 2025, in São Paulo, Brazil. EFE/Isaac Fontana