Americas Quarterly's New Issue: Brazil and the Path to COP30
Americas Quarterly's New Issue: Brazil and the Path to COP30
The magazine looks at how the Latin American country has a unique chance to lead the upcoming UN summit in Belém and deliver on global climate action.
Read the press release in Spanish and Portuguese
New York, July 15, 2025 —“With more than 40,000 participants from almost 200 countries expected to attend COP30 and related events in Belém, there will be no shortage of quality ideas,” write the authors of the cover story of Americas Quarterly's new issue. “But there is one proposal poised to take full advantage of the event’s unique location as well as the support of the host government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In short, Belém is a golden opportunity to increase the world’s focus on restoring tropical forests such as the Amazon—either by planting trees or allowing nature to regenerate.”
Beto Veríssimo and Juliano Assunção, co-directors of the Amazônia 2030 initiative, write that the old view of considering forests as merely victims or side players of the climate crisis no longer works. The protection and restoration of tropical forests is now central to solving the problem because they remove carbon from the air and can also bring economic benefits.
“The path is clear. The question now is whether COP30 can deliver the action needed. The future of tropical forests—and of the global climate system—may depend on it,” they conclude.
Veríssimo is also Brazil’s special envoy for forests at COP30 and Assunção is the executive director of the Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio.
Belém Awaits with Hope, Heat and Haste
In another story, the journalist Bruno Abbud writes how the forum will not only highlight global challenges but also the daily realities of the Amazon.
From Belém, Abbud explains what's changing—and what isn't—in the Amazonian city preparing to host COP30. Abbud observes the effects climate change and construction for the summit has on the city’s inhabitants.
As preparations continue, Abbud shows how Belém's people are hopeful, cautious, and determined to make sure their voices are not lost amid the promises of progress.
An X-Ray of the Amazon Region
AQ editor Emilie Sweigart presents detailed graphics of data on all eight countries of the Pan-Amazonian region, including the number of square kilometres of Amazon deforestation registered in each. Her charts also show the scope of illegal mining and key socioeconomic indicators of the Brazilian Amazon, as well as the city of Belém.
The U.S. Can't Afford to Sit Out Brazil's Climate Summit
In the issue, Susan Segal, president and CEO of Americas Society/Council of the Americas, writes that COP30 presents the White House with an opportunity to enhance its leadership in the Western Hemisphere.
Also in this issue:
- Patricia Garip writes about how Chilean mining company SQM's new state partnership faces growing scrutiny amid rising global competition for lithium, one of the world's most critical minerals.
- The AQ Profile: Ricardo Avila shows Vicky Davila's rise as an outsider candidate in Colombia's 2026 presidential race.
- Lucia Dammert analyzes how Trump's policies test U.S.-Latin America ties.
The full issue is available at americasquarterly.org
To request interviews with the authors, or to request publication permission, please contact AS/COA Media Relations at mediarelations@as-coa.org