By Abdullahi Lukman
COP30 President, André Corrêa do Lago, on May 23, 2025, issued a letter to governments detailing the main goals for the upcoming UNFCCC preparatory negotiations (SB 62) scheduled for June 16–26 in Bonn.
These talks set the stage for the landmark COP30 climate conference later this year.
For the first time, Corrêa do Lago highlighted three priority negotiation areas: Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) indicators under the UAE–Belém Work Programme, the UAE Dialogue on implementing the Global Stocktake (GST) outcomes, and the UAE Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP).
He emphasized the importance of the Global Stocktake outcomes, including tripling global renewable energy capacity, doubling energy efficiency improvements, and transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner.
The letter stresses three interconnected priorities for SB 62: strengthening multilateral climate cooperation, linking climate action to people’s daily lives, and accelerating efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
It also underscores the vital role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in climate solutions.
Environmental advocates from 350.org welcomed the clearer focus but called for stronger political commitment and strategic diplomacy during the Bonn talks to secure ambitious and just COP30 outcomes.
They also pointed to Brazil’s domestic environmental setbacks this week, highlighting contradictions between the country’s international climate leadership ambitions and recent policies allowing expanded oil exploration and weakening environmental impact assessments.
Brazil’s environmental agency IBAMA has advanced Petrobras’s licensing for oil exploration off the Amazon coast, while the Senate passed a controversial bill removing most environmental impact assessments, including for oil and gas projects.
The bill will return to the Chamber of Deputies, with a presidential veto still possible, as Brazil prepares to host COP30.
