As the international community gathers for the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-30, 10-21 November) in Belém, Brazil, UNECE is lending its expertise to support much-needed action on climate change.
Through its norms, standards, conventions and policy support, UNECE provides practical tools to support countries in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, to leverage finance and to strengthen cooperation.
Building on the launch of the 2025 Regional Forest Profile, which included a strong call to put forests at the centre of climate change action, UNECE is focusing its engagement at COP30 on two key issues: transport and water cooperation.
On transport, UNECE, together with partners, is advocating for advancing efforts to implement the inland transport decarbonisation strategy (adopted in 2024) and to create climate-resilient transport systems. Transport accounts for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Inland transport accounts for 72% of the total, with 69% for road transport, 2% for inland maritime transport and 1% for rail.
With 60% of the world’s freshwater in basins shared by two or more countries and 90% of natural disasters (including worsening floods and droughts) related to water, cooperation on water resources is gaining momentum as countries seek to strengthen resilience.
The UN Water Convention, administered by UNECE, provides the legal framework for the management of shared rivers, lakes and groundwater, and serves as a global platform for discussion, exchange of experiences and tools on these issues.
Other key areas of UNECE engagement include accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy environment, which includes supporting the optimization of synergies between all low- and zero-carbon energy technologies and sources, including nuclear energy, in partnership with the IAEA, and financing a just transition in the energy sector.
UNECE-led events include:
• Decarbonizing transport systems: from life-cycle emissions to national implementation action plans (15 November, 15:00-16:30, Parallel Event Room 4) - jointly with ESCAP.
• Building climate-resilient transport systems: powered by geospatial data (17 November, 16:45-18:15, Side Event Room 8)
Highlights of the events supported by UNECE include:
• Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action (11 November)
• Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation in river and lake basins (12 November, 11:30-13:00, Side Event Room 4)
• Scaling up impact: developing blended finance models for energy transition aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (13 November, 16:45-18:15)
• Connecting water resilience: the economics of climate change adaptation and mitigation (15 November, 16:45-18:15, Side Event Room 4)
• Ensuring Just Energy Transition from Mine to Market (November 19, 18:30-20:00, Side Event Room 2)
• Nature-based Solutions and Sustainable Infrastructure Development – Co-benefits for Environment and Health (November 20, 9:30-11:00, Italian Pavilion).
• Low-Carbon Energy Financing Strategies (November 20, 13:15-14:45, Side Event Room 5)
For more information, visit https://unece.org/COP30