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A Global South Reading of COP30 by Simon Manda

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COP30 in Belém, Brazil is one week away. But what does the conference mean for the global south?

In his blog written for the Priestley Centre, associate professor Simon Manda explores how the conference is a pivotal opportunity to shape the global agenda and ensure the Global South’s priorities take centre stage.

Simon is one of Leeds' COP30 delegates and is an associate Professor of Politics of Global Development, University of Leeds, School of Politics and International Studies

Professor wearing a blazer and shirt smiling at the camera inside of a library

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) will take place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10–21 and is expected to focus heavily on issues such as deforestation and financing climate action in developing countries. A recent blog by Professor Richard Beardsworth navigates what he calls ‘leadership between two realms, one rules-based and co-operative, the other nationalist-populist and centrifugal.’ In between, however, questions of inclusivity have already emerged with recent reports highlighting limited badges and high logistical costs, pricing out many activists from countries at the forefront of the climate crisis, who are struggling to pay their way. 

This blog explores what might be a global south reading of COP30, what its central features might be vis a vis justice perspective from territories impacted the most by climate change impacts. During President Donald Trump’s second term, the United States has adopted a stance that is simultaneously more assertive and more inward-focused. At the same time, the European Union appears increasingly cautious, divided, and preoccupied with its internal affairs. Whilst these geopolitical dynamics raise the question about whether the Global South — particularly Brazil, South Africa, India, and China — would rise to fill the void in global climate leadership, historical legacies cast dark shadows.  

Since Stockholm in 1972 (the United Nations’ first major environmental conference), the Global South continues to face the dual challenge of advancing sustainable development while upholding environmental responsibility. A recent 2025 UNDP Human Development Report highlight important human development conditions. Nearly two thirds of all poor people, about 740 million or 64.5 percent of all poor population live in middle-income countries. Of the 1.1 billion poor people, 887 million live in subnational regions experiencing at least one of four climate hazards: high heat, drought, floods and air pollution. Out of 887 million poor people who are exposed to at least one climate hazard, 309 million are living in the subnational regions exposed to three or four climate hazards. As the human development gaps widen, recent research around energy transition shows further concerns climate policies could deepen historical inequalities or hinder their growth in poor countries such as those in the sub-Saharan Africa. This includes social justice and equity issues in green markets and new conservation programmes. A global south reading of COP30 would be a leading on Climate Action at COP30 to advance an agenda that demands equity and fairness and most importantly genuity commitment from all.  

COP30 presents the Global South with a pivotal opportunity to shape the global agenda and ensure its priorities take center stage. 

1. A change of the narrative about climate change, indigenous leadership and forest guardianship

For decades, the West has shaped the global climate narrative, largely due to its dominance over the science guiding the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the multilateral development banks that fund climate initiatives, and the international media outlets that influence public opinion. COP30 raises fundamental questions and reflections on planetary transformation from the ground up. There are climate visionaries such as 2004 Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai, and Vandana Shiva that have shaped narrative around indigenous leadership and forest guardianship. Indeed, the global south must ‘Rise Up and Walk, ’integrating environmental protection and community empowerment in move to becoming effective rights-holders in line with the Global Mutirão Initiative.  

2. A genuine financial commitment by industrialised countries

In discussions on climate finance, I have often heard references to individuals or entities who control or withhold funds intended for climate change mitigation and adaptation. There are others that deploy climate finance strategically raising questions of neocolonial climate finance. It is time to identify and hold accountable the organizations and individuals whose actions impede progress on global climate efforts and demand genuine financial commitment by industrialised countries. We know that even the loss and damage fund took many years to gain acceptance and remains a deeply dividing topic. Global south countries should not fall for the lacklustre business as usual approach by industrialised countries. Global south countries must demand for a financial framework that delivers upfront, grant-based funding and incorporates streamlined access mechanisms alongside debt-sensitive provisions to support countries most vulnerable to climate impacts. 

3. Demand Concrete Outcomes

A 2025 recent report by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre reveals how developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive. The report finds that for every 5 dollars developing countries receive they are paying 7 dollars back. Globally, almost 70% of funding is delivered as loans rather than grants. This is deepening debt burdens and hindering climate action. Further cuts to foreign aid by the USA and others including the UK’s budget threaten to shrink climate finance and abandon the poorest communities facing worsening climate disasters. Ahead of COP30, Global South countries must call for an ambitious new target for international climate finance—aligned with the global finance goal agreed upon last year—and outline clear strategies for mobilizing additional funding, particularly for adaptation and loss and damage. Concentre commitments would be needed towards resilience building, channelling resources to frontline communities and climate-sensitive sectors such as health, water, food and nature. 

4. Centering the International Court of Justice in Climate Change Justice

Now more than ever it is easy to lose faith in global institutions such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but the global south must see an opportunity in the tools that can be relied upon to demand actions from industrialised nations and reorient the power balance. A recent advisory opinion brings obligations of States under customary international law relating to climate change. Here the ICJ transforms climate ambition from a matter of political will into one of legal responsibility. Whilst this is a monumental step in customary international law where grievance mechanisms could expose parties to both legal and reputational risks, the invisibility of historical harm in such frameworks gives insight into the preference and structure of the law itself – and here lies the problem. Countries must call for an expanded scope in the customary international law in order to expand legal tools that can not only address historical harms but also deter emissions and reduce environmental degradation.  

Belém’s Moment: Can the Global South Lead Together?

The challenge with Belém is the challenge of the future of multilateral climate governance, including whether it can move from historical postwar hegemony to genuine coalition – somewhat of a new geometry of climate governance that can forge unity amid fragmentation. In this sense, COP30 is a defining moment of our era. The Global South is far from being a homogenous category, but a shared sense of tensions of development imperatives, sovereign debt pressures, and domestic political realities means that COP30 presents yet another opportunity to fight for shared values – justice. Anything short of that would be a betrayal of trust of the rules-based, multilateral system – an alternative we cannot afford to imagine.

Learn more about the University of Leeds at COP30 here

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