The city of Belém, in Pará, will host the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-30). The information was released this Friday (26) by the federal government, through a video in which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the state governor, Helder Barbalho (MDB), receive confirmation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira.

“On May 18, the United Nations approved the holding of COP-30 in the city of Belém do Pará, in November 2025,” the chancellor said.

The UN Climate Conference is the largest event in the world on this topic. At the meeting, heads of state and government, researchers, environmentalists and businesspeople discuss measures to combat climate change.

Belém's candidacy to be the host city was made official in January. However, the negotiations that resulted in the choice began before President Lula had yet taken office, last year, during COP-27, in Egypt.

“I have already participated in COPs in Egypt, in Paris, in Copenhagen, and people only talk about the Amazon, only talk about the Amazon. And I said: why not hold the COP in an Amazonian state so you can learn about the Amazon?”, Lula explained in the video.

In the recording, the governor of Pará assures the president that the state is prepared to host the event. “It increases our responsibility to show that Brazil is prepared, and the responsibility of the environmental agenda, reconciling the Amazonians of our region with respect for the environment”, stated Helder Barbalho.

What does the acronym COP mean?

COP is an acronym in English that means “Conference of the Parties”, representing the association of all member countries (or “parties”) that meet annually, for a period of two weeks, to assess the situation of climate change on the planet.

It is the largest and most important annual conference related to climate. Its origins are linked to ECO-92, organized 30 years ago by the UN, in Rio de Janeiro, where 197 countries signed a treaty to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

The first COP took place in 1994, in Berlin, Germany, when the treaty signed in 1992 came into force. Since then, the UN has annually summoned all countries to the climate summit — in 2021, leaders of 120 nations participated in the meeting, according to the organization. investments for COP 30 in Belém

Urban infrastructure projects will prepare the city to host the largest environmental debate agenda on the planet

A historic day for the capital of Pará this Saturday (17), when interventions for the urban development of the city were made official by the Government of Pará and the City of Belém, aiming at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 30) in 2025. In a meeting at the CDP warehouse, Governor Helder Barbalho and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced, together with authorities, the strategic negotiations for the event.
The meeting between the leaders of the state and federal Executive took place this Saturday (17), with the presence of the Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes; the Minister of Management and Innovation, Esther Dweck; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira; Senator Jader Barbalho; Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, leader of the Government in the Senate; the Mayor of Belém, Edmilson Rodrigues; and other authorities.
“There is nothing more talked about in the world than the Amazon. It is important to know that 28 million human beings live here who need to work and eat, and that we have to preserve this place. Therefore, what will happen here will receive the greatest attention in the world, and the Federal Government will spare no effort to help both the City of Belém and the State Government host this important event,” emphasized President Lula.

For Governor Helder Barbalho, the COP is the most extraordinary opportunity that society has to find a solution to the environmental agenda. “It is Pará and Brazil leading the change in land use, the valorization of the living forest, the generation of green jobs, the viability of an economic model that keeps the forest standing and allows people to have jobs and income. Pará has been doing its homework. This year alone we have seen the greatest reduction in deforestation in the state's history and we will continue to combat environmental illegality, but it is essential that we find a solution so that people can have a livelihood, be able to produce and put food on the table,” he said.

Support – The Minister of Cities, Jader Filho, reinforced the support for the State Government in holding COP 30 in Belém. “We are making ourselves available to Governor Helder, who was another key player in ensuring that the COP could be held here in Pará, based on the articulation he made with the president about the importance of this event taking place in Pará. In all editions of the COP, everyone has been involved “People always talk about the Amazon, but they talk about it based on a book they read, a documentary they watched or someone else’s opinion, but it is important that heads of state and people who truly value the environment come to talk about the Amazon by getting to know the Amazon,” he pointed out.

In addition to officially announcing Belém as the host city of COP 30 and defining the main preparation measures for the event, President Lula participated in the signing of the service order for the start of construction work on Porto Futuro 2ª Etapa, a project that foresees the restoration and revitalization of seven CDP warehouses for use in initiatives aimed at generating jobs and income in activities linked to the creative economy and the development of sustainable businesses. The project has an estimated completion time of 25 months and the investment will be around R$300 million.

A protocol of intent was also signed for the renovation of Ver-o-Peso and the rehabilitation of Igarapé São Joaquim Park. According to the City of Belém, the park, located in the Una basin, will have an area of ??6.48 hectares and 4.6 km in length, and is budgeted at R$150 million. In the Ver-o-Peso complex, the works will include parking, fairs, meat and fish markets, Pedra do Peixe and the Feira do Açaí.

Tourism – Another topic discussed was the tourist use of areas belonging to the Union in Belém, proposed by Governor Helder Barbalho to the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services this month, in addition to important works to guarantee the infrastructure of the road network, such as the Parque da Cidade, which will be a space designed to offer the population several options for leisure, interaction, culture, art and well-being. The work represents the largest urban intervention in the last 100 years in the capital of Pará. The agendas reinforce the commitment of the Government of Pará to the urban development of the city, already demonstrated in 2020, with the delivery of the Belém Porto Futuro Urban Park, based on a proposal from the Ministry of National Integration, at the time when Helder Barbalho was head of the department. The first phase included the construction of a bridge over the canal on Avenida Visconde de Souza Franco (Doca); the opening of Rua Belém, connecting Avenida Pedro Álvares Cabral to Travessa Rui Barbosa; the creation of parking lots; a gourmet square; and the renovation of Praça General Magalhães. The project received federal investments in the amount of R$31.5 million and the park is visited daily by approximately 2,000 people.

Porto Futuro – This year, construction will begin on the 2nd stage of the Porto Futuro project, which includes seven warehouses officially granted by Companhia Docas do Pará (CDP) to the State Government, through the State Secretariat of Culture (Secult), for economic activities related to culture, tourism, and the bioeconomy.
The project includes the restoration and revitalization of Warehouses 04, 04-A, 05, 06, 06-A and the reassembly of Warehouse 11, as well as proposals for occupying the spaces aimed at valuing cultural heritage and generating employment and income in activities related to the creative economy and the development of sustainable businesses based on biodiversity.

An important distinguishing feature of the project is that it will be developed locally, respecting the local environmental, urban, and landscape characteristics, in addition to the historical heritage. The proposals for the warehouses include space for the creative economy and innovation (crafts and bioeconomy); food culture (food, workshops, experiences, courses); a central square with a children's area, tourist support, security and technical area; parking with 200 parking spaces and bicycle racks; nine cranes, the two on the sides of which will be transformed into observation decks; and the transformation of warehouses 11 into the Memorial of the Amazon Navigation, requested by the CDP, and the Memorial of Popular Culture and Intangible Heritage. The project has an estimated completion time of 25 months and the investment will be around R$ 300 million.