Green agenda: CoP-30 offers the Global South a chance to grab the climate mantle

In 1972, at the UN’s first major environmental conference in Stockholm, then-Indian Prime  Minister Indira Gandhi famously declared,  “Poverty is the worst form of pollution." To this day, the Global South grapples with the challenge of pursuing sustainable development while promoting environmental responsibility. Many  developing countries have long feared that climate policies might reinforce historical inequalities or constrain their growth. But now, the Global South has an opening to ensure that the international agenda reflects its priorities.

Many policymakers recognize the need for a change. While global cooperation has produced numerous important climate commitments, such as those made at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and those contained in the 2015 Paris climate agreement, they remain largely unfulfilled. 

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Moreover, financial support from the rich world has been well below what is needed, hindering climate action in developing countries, eroding trust in Western leaders and lowering global ambitions.

The Global South has no shortage of climate visionaries—from Wangari Maathai to Vandana Shiva and Chico Mendes—who have connected environmental protection with community empowerment. But the West has controlled the climate narrative for decades, as it dominates the science that informs the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the multilateral development banks that provide climate finance and the global media outlets that shape public opinion. 

That is particularly true for the US. Despite its stumbles, such as when President George W. Bush withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2001, the rhetorical ambition of other US presidents, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, ensured that the West remained a leading voice in shaping the climate agenda, even when not matched by action.

Trump’s resurgence has brought that era to  an end. His administration has mocked climate  science, propped up the fossil-fuel industry and denounced the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (to say nothing of his destabilizing trade war). The EU, weakened by the rise of the far right and preoccupied with bolstering its defences, lacks the political will and has fallen short of providing the economic means to lead on international climate cooperation and finance.

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This wide collapse has shattered the idea of a coherent ‘West,’ if such a creature ever existed. But it could empower the Global South, which bears the brunt of climate shocks, to lead a more equitable and inclusive clean-energy transition. Despite short-term hurdles, in the long run, reducing  fossil-fuel dependence—which is becoming more feasible now that renewables are more scalable and reliable—can help stabilize economies and improve public health.

Many Global South governments have already played key roles in shaping Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris pact. China has also become the undisputed global leader in green tech, outpacing the West in its shift to renewables. Facing US trade barriers, China’s surplus of solar panels, batteries and wind turbines could be  redirected to developing countries, strengthening their energy sovereignty.

There are signs that Brazil, India, South Africa and China are building on this foundation to forge a cohesive climate agenda ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (CoP-30) in Belém, Brazil, which is focused on collective action, or ‘mutirão.’ In April, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres brought together 17 heads of state from the Global South and EU for a summit aimed at elevating national climate ambitions in the CoP-30 lead-up.

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Brazil has also leveraged its Brics+ presidency to build momentum for CoP-30, creating a roadmap for expanding cooperation on energy security and establishing the Brics Laboratory for Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Development. In early July, the Brics+ summit approved a Leaders’ Framework Declaration on Climate Finance. Whether these initiatives will deliver tangible results is uncertain, given the divergent interests within Brics. For example, several members, such as Russia and the UAE, depend on fossil fuels.

South Africa is using its G-20 presidency to amplify African voices and push for debt relief, green industrialization and low-cost finance; it is attempting to address the structural barriers that prevent vulnerable countries from investing in  climate mitigation and adaptation. With the right financial and technological support, the green transition can drive broad-based prosperity in the developing world.

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The costs of clean tech have crashed, largely owing to China’s industrial capacity, making some of the material conditions for climate leadership in the Global South more favourable. Moreover, China could finance decarbonization projects in other countries through renminbi loans, export credits and debt-for-clean-energy swaps. If successful, Brics+ members’ de-dollarization efforts could overcome financial bottlenecks and reduce dependence on Western banks.

In today’s fragmented world, multilateralism is essential and South-South cooperation on agreed climate targets offers a powerful platform to help revitalize it. The Global South is also well-positioned to lead plurilateral initiatives that advance climate solutions. These coalitions of the willing are crucial for countering the US administration’s bullying tactics—namely, the use of trade negotiations to shift other governments’ investment priorities and weaken their green policies.

Western countries must be held accountable  at CoP-30 for their historic emissions and unmet climate-finance promises. But the summit represents a vital opportunity for the Global South to demonstrate that climate and development goals are not mutually exclusive. To seize it, these countries must subordinate their differences to their overriding interest in presenting a clear-eyed vision of an energy transition that uplifts their people and protects the planet.  ©2025/Project Syndicate

The author are, respectively, co-founder and executive director, Plataforma CIPÓ; professor of economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst; and head of the globalization and transformation division at Heinrich Böll Foundation.