Planetary Guardians at COP30:
Ten Reflections from Belém
Planetary Guardians showed up in full force at COP30 these last two weeks. And this year felt different. We had the privilege of partnering with the Arapyaú Institute, Rockefeller, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Packard Foundation and a powerful coalition of scientists and allies to bring to life the first COP-mandated Planetary Science Pavilion, a space grounded in truth, science, and a whole-planet perspective. It served as a lighthouse in Belém: a place where leaders, activists, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, and citizens could gather around a shared mission to protect the stability of Earth’s life support systems.
Each day at COP30 we also spotlighted a Guardian of the Day on the We Don’t Have Time broadcasts, highlighting the extraordinary people working to guide us back toward a safe and just operating space for humanity.
Science-grounded voices set the tone for the Pavilion, and for the Guardians’ presence across COP30: science-led, truth-telling, anchored in justice, and unafraid to call out the gulf between political rhetoric and planetary reality.
With that grounding, here are our ten reflections from an extraordinary fortnight in Belém.
1. A Transformation: COP is Now About Implementation and Truth.
The era of vague ambition is over. COP30 made one thing clear: implementation is now the central currency. The world is out of runway. Scientists reminded us that global CO₂ emissions in 2025 are still 1.1% higher than 2024, and at current levels we have just 3–4 years before the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C is exhausted. COP30 forced negotiators to confront reality rather than rhetoric.
2. Science at the Heart: The Planetary Science Pavilion put science back where it belongs, at the centre of global climate decision-making.
It also hosted the launch of a new False Information Badge (FIB) series, a scientist-led effort to quickly correct misleading narratives that undermine climate action, including the dangerous framing that climate and development are opposing goals.
3. Roadmaps for Delivery, Not Declarations: Scientists were unequivocal, a roadmap is not a workshop.
It is a real plan showing how to phase out fossil fuels and end deforestation. This aligns with findings from the Three Basins, One Lifeline report, which underscores that the Amazon, Congo and Southeast Asia Basins are moving dangerously close to tipping points unless deforestation is halted and nature protected at scale.
4. Finance Matters: Climate finance remains the fault line.
Without predictable, grant-based financing for developing nations, there is no just transition and no pathway to 1.5°C. As scientists warned, “countries cannot plan, invest, or deliver transitions without finance.” Finance is the enabling architecture for everything else.
5. The Who, Power and Representation:
According to independent analysis, COP30 saw a striking rise in fossil-fuel-aligned delegates, over 1,600, that is one in every 25 participants attending the COP and one of the largest cohorts to date and a 12% rise on the number at Baku. At the same time, Indigenous Peoples made their presence felt through protests and public interventions, yet were again sidelined from meaningful negotiation rooms. Their leadership, especially in the Amazon, is indispensable, and future COPs must embed Indigenous co-governance, not just symbolic presence.
6. Busting Silos: A Whole-Planet Approach:
The Amazon was at the centre of COP30 and rightly so, because the science is clear: we cannot address the climate crisis in silos. Forests, oceans, land use, energy, water, and pollution are interconnected. The Pavilion brought this whole-planet approach to life, reminding negotiators that we are dealing with one integrated Earth system, not separate issues.
7. Unlikely Partnerships Point the Way Forward:
One of the bright sparks of COP30 was a surge in cross-sector and cross-cultural partnerships. Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation made a $10M investment in the Tropical Forests Forever Fund, the California–Nigeria MoU, and emerging green-industrial collaborations between Brazil, the UK and others show what bold coalition-building looks like. These partnerships are not a “nice to have”, they are the multipliers we need.
8. The Urgency Has Never Been Clearer - Every scientist and Guardian who spoke underscored the same reality:
We need 5% emissions cuts per year, starting now.
Fossil fuels must be phased out rapidly.
Adaptation must scale immediately to protect lives.
Tipping points in the Amazon and coral reefs are imminent.
“This is physics,” President JM Santos said. “There is no negotiating with the laws of nature.” Carlos Nobre.
9. A World We Want to Run Toward: The heroes of COP30 were the solution-makers.
From community leaders to entrepreneurs, from scientists to youth organisers, they offered a vivid picture of the world we can build: resilient, equitable, and regenerative. The Guardian of the Day series celebrated this hope by spotlighting individuals whose work shows what is possible when humanity steps up. We celebrated ‘Guardian of the Day’ California Governor Gavin Newsom, who demonstrated powerful sub-national leadership in a moment when the U.S. federal delegation is absent, signing a landmark California–Nigeria MoU to advance net-zero goals. Another ‘Guardian of the Day’ was Indigenous Peoples, recognised as the true and original guardians of the forest, whose unprecedented presence at COP30 and the historic “barqueata” reaffirmed their indispensable leadership. And a third ‘Guardian of the Day’ was the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), highlighting major contributions from Indonesia and Norway to the TFFF, vital steps toward securing long-term protection for the world’s tropical forests. We also celebrated Scientists as ‘Guardian of the Day’ for establishing the Planetary Science Pavilion as a bridge with the negotiations and for persuading the world to “listen to the science”.
10. Mutirão -- The Spirit We Need Now:
One word kept rising in Belém, Mutirão, the Brazilian concept of collective effort for a shared purpose. It echoes the global mobilisation that saved the ozone layer. Humanity has done this before. We can do it again.
Over the two weeks, we issued three major scientific statements from the Planetary Science Pavilion. Each one delivered directly to negotiators and carried into global media. Together, they formed a scientifically grounded call to action at a moment of profound consequence.
The first statement warned that “2025 CO₂ emissions are projected to be 1.1% higher than 2024, leaving only 3–4 years before the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C is exhausted.” It reminded leaders that every 0.1°C of additional warming dramatically increases the risks of deadly heatwaves, fires, storms and crop failures, particularly for vulnerable communities.
The second statement underscored that the Amazon and tropical coral reefs. Earth’s two richest biomes are now under intolerable pressure. Scientists highlighted that the Amazon recently suffered one of its worst droughts in recorded history and more than 140,000 fires, while 80% of coral reefs have been severely bleached in the past three years. “When the Amazon shifts from sink to source, the entire planet will feel the heat,” they wrote, a clear warning to negotiators that protecting forests cannot be separated from phasing out fossil fuels.
The third statement, issued in the final stretch of negotiations, was even more direct: “We are at a planetary crossroad. COP30 has a choice, to protect people and life or the fossil fuel industry.” It challenged negotiators to deliver real roadmaps capable of reducing CO₂ emissions by at least 5% per year starting now, ending deforestation, and scaling predictable, grant-based finance for developing countries. “Removing the carbon budget from the text,” the scientists wrote, “means removing reality from the COP.”
COP30 reminded us that the planetary crisis is not just a challenge, it is an invitation. An invitation to come together across countries, cultures and sectors; to choose courage over complacency; and to build the safe, thriving future we owe to each other.
The Planetary Guardians will continue to carry this spirit forward into 2026 and beyond.