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In this episode of The 360 on Energy and Carbon, Dave Arkell, John Pooley, and Lysandra Naom dig into COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and ask a blunt question: is the COP process still delivering real climate action, or just more diplomatic noise? The team walks through what COP30 actually is, who shows up, and what 55,000 delegates plus 70,000 protesters tell us about the scale, cost, and politics of global climate negotiations.
They unpack the tug-of-war over a fossil fuel “roadmap,” why countries most dependent on fossil revenue are resisting prescriptive language, and how that shapes the final text. The conversation also highlights underreported angles from this COP: the exclusion of military emissions from national targets, a new push on gender and inclusion, and mounting concern over weaponized climate disinformation.
From there, the hosts zoom out. They talk about the near-total lack of media coverage, the political incentives that drive (or block) climate policy, and what actually motivates governments to move – economics, crisis, public pressure, or competition. China’s recent emissions trend, the forgotten role of energy efficiency, and the need for energy literacy all come into focus as they weigh whether businesses and countries can afford to wait for COP decisions before acting.
Whether you follow every COP decision or just see the occasional headline, this episode gives a clear-eyed, practical view of what COP30 means for climate action, energy costs, and the path forward.
