At the Leaders' Summit, Helder Barbalho reinforces Pará's prominence at COP30
In a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, alongside mayors from C40 and global leaders, the governor consolidates Pará's strategic role in the climate agenda
On the second and final day of the Leaders' Summit in Belém, the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho, had a busy agenda with heads of state, mayors from major cities around the world, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, reinforcing Pará's role, and that of the Amazon, in building a fairer and more effective global climate agenda.
Held over two days, the Summit anticipated the political debate of COP30, which will take place in Belém starting next Monday (10) until November 21, bringing together delegations from various countries and consolidating the State as a reference in discussions about climate, forests, and sustainable development.
During the Summit, Pará presented itself as a showcase of climate solutions, with Helder Barbalho highlighting that the State arrives at COP30 with a structured environmental policy, based on concrete instruments such as the Amazon Now Plan, the State Bioeconomy Plan (PlanBio), the Native Vegetation Recovery Plan, the REDD+ Jurisdictional System, and the Environmental Responsibility Law. Public policies that position the State as a laboratory for a low-carbon economy, combining forest preservation, bioeconomy, production traceability, and social inclusion, in tune with the global demand for better climate conditions.
At the beginning of the last day's program, Helder Barbalho participated in the traditional "family photo" of the Summit, alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and other global leaders, symbolizing the convergence of efforts around the defense of the Amazon and the planet's climate stability.
Role of the Amazon - One of the highlights of the agenda was the bilateral meeting between Governor Helder Barbalho and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. In the meeting, held in Belém, the governor specifically addressed the start of COP30 in the capital of Pará, the strategic role of the Amazon in the planet's climate stability, and the ways in which Pará can contribute concretely to the global climate agenda.
Helder Barbalho proposed the creation of a United Nations body focused on the Amazon, and, if possible, headquartered in Belém. An idea inspired by UN Africa, which deals with issues related to that continent.
Permanent Actions - The governor presented to António Guterres the advances of the State in climate planning, traceability of production chains, and consolidation of legal bases, which allow transforming commitments into permanent and monitorable actions. Helder Barbalho emphasized that Pará has prepared for COP30 to be a COP of implementation, capable of turning promises into effective results for the populations living in the forest and the entire international community.
Detailing instruments such as the Amazon Now Plan, the REDD+ Jurisdictional System, and the State Bioeconomy Plan, Helder Barbalho assured that Pará has the technical, institutional, and legal conditions to serve as a model for other tropical regions, becoming a reference in low-carbon development with social inclusion.
During the day, the governor also met with mayors from the C40 network, which brings together major cities committed to climate action, and with Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In these meetings, Helder Barbalho reinforced the importance of integrating national and local governments, international organizations, and the private sector into a single strategy to ensure climate justice, forest protection, and the generation of opportunities for the Amazonian population.
Concluding the program, the governor of Pará participated in the closing of the Plenary Session of the Climate Summit, a moment when leaders consolidated the main political messages that will be taken to the formal negotiations of COP30. The balance of the Summit points to the strengthening of Brazil's role, and that of Pará, as articulators of a global pact for the forest, reinforcing the expectation that Belém will be the stage for a COP of implementation – aiming to turn promises into concrete results – and to involve national and local governments, the private sector, and civil society in a joint effort for climate justice and ecological transition.
Engagement - Evaluating the Leaders' Summit, Helder Barbalho highlighted the importance of the deliberations built in Belém and the Amazon's prominence in this process. "From the presence of global leaders, the deliberations made here point to the beginning of discussions and the path throughout COP30. For us to leave an environmental legacy, to ensure the involvement and participation of countries in this engagement, in this collective effort so that the COP in Belém is a COP of implementation," he stated.
He emphasized that COP will be the moment to deepen the technical and political debate initiated at the Summit. "Soon, COP30 will begin, when society, governments, the private sector, everyone will be here deepening discussions, connecting, engaging, so that we can make this COP an absolutely victorious COP, with the foot of the forest, with our legitimacy, which we live in the Amazon, and under the leadership of Brazil, under the leadership of Pará, under the leadership of Belém," the governor emphasized.
Helder Barbalho reiterated the State's commitment to leading this process. According to him, "now, it is to continue. Continue working, so that we can honor the trust and mobilize, with great pride, this special moment that Belém is experiencing."
