A flawed but authentic COP30 in the Brazilian Amazon

Welcome to our weekly newsletter where we highlight environmental trends and solutions that are moving us to a more sustainable world. 

Susan Ormiston and Jill English here, covering our fourth UN climate conference, share our notes on COP30 in the Brazilian Amazon talks — where the drama played out both in and outside the negotiating rooms.

This week:

• A flawed but authentic COP30 in the Brazilian Amazon
• The Big Picture: The plug-in problem
• Meet the B.C. residents hosting whale detection devices on their properties

A flawed but authentic COP30 in the Brazilian Amazon

Flames inside COP30 sent everyone fleeing, torrential rains outside caused leaks and periodic flooding and a riot by demonstrators bursting through the entrance turned the climate talks in Belém, Brazil, into one of the most surprising UN climate conferences. 

When protestors burst into the venue one night, CBC producer Jill English hustled down to the entrance from our office to see if there was indeed danger. Local Brazilian security guards, arms linked, were struggling to push the protests back. UN security, caught by surprise, were yelling at people to get out.

That was our first hint that drama, usually in the negotiating rooms, was everywhere.

Brazil hatched its bold plan to host the UN climate talks in the Amazonian city, ill-prepared to host 50,000 people, as a move to bring state leaders, climate negotiators, delegates, Indigenous peoples and international media all to a place emblematic of climate change. Situated near the equator, Belém was hot, intensely humid, and the air conditioning which bellowed through the conference halls was like a windstorm.

Adapting to climate change is messy, imperfect and strewn with politics, and, in a funny way, the Amazonian COP, though deeply flawed, was authentic.

But it won’t be remembered as a landmark COP, its conclusion was rancorous and struggled to meet even the lowest ambitions.

While it was politics inside the Blue Zone, the negotiating area of the conference, the Green Zone, a kind of a climate-focussed trade show, had an altogether different kind of energy.

Small coffee growers, Indigenous craft sellers, and companies were hawking all kinds of potential solutions towards adapting to climate changes, many of them designed for developing countries.

The place was packed with young Brazilians and others soaking up the possibility of creating small-scale solutions at local levels to deal with impossible heat and to grow renewable energy. Official power wasn’t in the Green Zone, but it felt as powerful.

Brazil launched COP30 with beautiful images of the Amazon waterways, toucans and untouched jungle. “It was very important for us to show the Amazon as it truly is,” said President Luiz Anácio Lula da Silva, “to embed it in the minds of people around the world.”

Yet on the political side, as we reported from Oiapoque,1,000 km north, Brazil greenlighted a first exploratory oil well off the Amazon coast, reupping its position as a proud and significant oil producer.

Lula, who is running again for president next year, was vocal in trying to assure the world that he supports moving away from oil and gas, and called for a “roadmap” to do so.

“Everyone must understand their responsibility,” he said. “We must show society that we are serious … we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Lula told delegates halfway through the conference.

But that push for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels  was a non-starter. The same powerful oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and others, and some developing countries who want to exploit their own resources, shut it down.

Canada concluded that pushing for a roadmap on fossil fuels at this conference was impractical. In a statement from Environment and Climate Change Canada, it said it still supports transitioning away from oil and gas, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney this week threw political support behind the possibility of a new oil pipeline in the west.

The Amazonian COP also promised Indigenous participation not seen before, accrediting over 360 delegates and encouraging side events for hundreds of others. A flotilla of boats sailed for 27 days crossing three international borders, picking up Indigenous participants from the Andes to the Amazon, before arriving in Guajará Bay in Belém. Demonstrations during the conference pushed the leadership to give them more voice. 

We spoke with one of the travellers, an Indigenous man from Ecuador who came by boat.

“It was a good experience,” said Wia Kawia.

“The most important thing is we are here together, because today we have borders that divide people but at the end of the day we are all brothers and sisters part of the same humanity.” 

“Here we are moving in the same direction with the same goals to preserve nature,” he said.

But on the question of fossil fuels, this conference did not move in the same direction.

In fact a splinter group is taking things into their own hands.

Columbia, with the Netherlands, and with the support of Brazil, is hosting its own conference in April to tackle the thorniest issue which defies consensus: How does the world move away from oil, coal and gas?

— Susan Ormiston and Jill English

Old issues of What on Earth? are here. The CBC News climate page is here. 

Check out our podcast and radio show. In our newest episode: For Marsya Ancker, laying her father to rest in a mycelium casket was a choice that was true to his environmental values. We hear how the biodegradable Loop Living Cocoon, made of the root fibres of mushrooms and upcycled hemp, is better for the earth than traditional coffins. And, we explore other innovations in green burials for people who want more environmentally friendly end-of-life options.

What On Earth drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app or on demand at CBC Listen. The radio show airs Sundays at 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Check the CBC News Climate Dashboard for live updates on temperature and precipitation records. Set your location for information on air quality and to find out how today’s temperatures compare to historical trends. 

Reader feedback

Last week, we wrote about how Canadians get around if they don’t own a car. 

Rick Sparling of Winnipeg wrote: “I have been without a car now for about a year and I have a shuttle [operated by the landlord] at my apartment that takes me shopping any time during 9 a.m.–5:30 p.m. I have buses within five minutes to take me to two different shopping malls. And because I don’t have gas to buy, repairs to do, tires to change, insurance to pay for, I can afford to use Uber if the situation warrants it. At 80 years old, it also took a dangerous driver off the road … me!”

Mary Jane Philp wrote: “I live in Portsmouth Village in Kingston [Ont.] — a great community but with few retail amenities so I walk, bike or bus to get groceries, do errands, attend appointments and engage with the city and friends. I have a pretty cool folding bike that I use in decent weather. It gets me to the train station and rides with me to Toronto and Hamilton to visit family and friends. I joined a car share service and monthly use a car for about four hours to pick up awkward stuff — garden supplies, toilet paper, small appliances.  I learned how to drive a friend’s electric car. And I am happy to accept a ride with others, and find a good way to return the favour…. I am happily car-free, but am careful to support the idea of driving less as an option for just about everyone.”  

A few weeks ago, Nick Logan wrote about religious leaders from many faiths encouraging climate action. Lorna Hillman wrote: “I’m very disappointed that you didn’t include Buddhism in the list of religions that address climate change and environmental destruction. The 14th Dalai Lama has spoken about this for years.” 

Write us at whatonearth@cbc.ca (and send photos there too!)

The Big Picture: The Plug-in Problem

In the last five years, it’s clear that plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are growing in terms of total sales, even with this year’s loss of a consumer rebate bringing costs down. With both an electric motor and combustion engine, they are capable of having zero emissions and count towards many countries’ roadmap to an all-electric future.

But there are problems. For one, research shows that people don’t plug them in and according to real-world driver data out of Europe, their gas-using modes kick in more often than official estimates. This means they pollute far more than their drivers may believe. 

But with Canada reviewing its EV sales mandate, automakers facing tariff uncertainty and the U.S. dismantling support for electric vehicles, some experts say PHEVs can still be an important part of getting transportation to net-zero. 

— Anand Ram

Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web

• Iowa City eliminated bus fares in August 2023 with a goal of lowering emissions from cars and encouraging people to take public transit. Did it work? Here’s a closer look.

• Matt Simon of Grist is eating a piece of Dawn the Yorkshire pig. “But don’t worry,” he says. “She’s doing perfectly fine.” It turns out Dawn donated some fat that has been grown into cultivated meatballs and bacon. Simon shares how it came to be, and how it tastes.

Meet the B.C. residents hosting whale-detection devices on their properties

People living on B.C.’s coast are offering up their private properties to host technology that can detect whales, in hopes of safeguarding the marine mammals that pass through.

Suzette Alvarez and Marshall Farris own an oceanfront property near Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast, where a live camera was installed underneath the deck of their house in May 2024.

The camera points out towards the Malaspina Strait, and a hydrophone was dropped into the ocean 20 metres deep, picking up underwater noise from vessels and animals.

“These animals are precious. They’re magnificent … and we need to do what we can to protect them,” Alvarez said.

In recent weeks, three humpback whales have been killed, and one injured after being struck by a vessel on B.C.’s coast.

Alvarez is among a group of B.C. residents that are deploying technology that can help detect whales and potentially provide protection, according to scientists.

Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a non-profit team of conservationists and scientists, operates and collects the data from the camera and hydrophone.

The technology is the first of its kind in the area, according to Valeria Vergara, a scientist with the foundation.

“This is something that is quite needed there … this area is really undersampled acoustically,” Vergara said.

Their research focuses on monitoring the presence of at-risk marine mammal species by tracking their vocalizations and how noise levels from boats and other human activities impact them.

“Underwater noise has become a real, real issue in the last few decades,” she said. “Noise transmits very, very well in water and about four to five times faster than in air.”

For humpback whales and orcas, sound is how they communicate with each other and find prey.

“To listen to a singing humpback and then suddenly boat noise obliterates that song, it’s a really good way to get the general public and policymakers to understand just how dire the situation is,” Vergara said.

Southern resident killer whales are endangered, and noise pollution plays a big part, according to Vergara.

“Noise pollution, along with contaminants, and a lack of prey availability are the three main culprits for their lack of ability to recover,” she said.

Thermal camera detects whale blows

Alvarez is not the only one trying to do her part.

Chris Roper lives on Pender Island and offered up a spot on his property to host an infrared thermal camera called WhaleSpotter.

“There’s lots of work to do to coexist with exceptional amounts of shipping and marine mammals,” said Roper.

The cameras belongs to the W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Guardians that protect southern resident killer whales.

Using the technology and cameras, the guardians are monitoring and advocating for the animals in the Salish Sea.

Daniel Zitterbart, the chief scientist at WhaleSpotter, explains how the camera and artificial intelligence help to protect whales, detecting when a whale is present.

The thermal camera detects the temperature difference of a whale blow in real time, and a person verifies the alert within 30 seconds to a minute. Only verified information is sent back to the operator.

“In British Columbia right now, we have over 10 cameras distributed,” Zitterbart said.

“We have a science-backed solution now, which is capable of providing protection at a very high level, and this can be done for all sorts of mammals,” he added.

Roper’s property on Pender Island sits right above a whale sanctuary where vessels are prohibited from entering during specific times of the year.

The location is also a high-traffic area for container ships, large vessels and ferries.

“We’re really getting noisy here, and that’s evident by the hydrophone and the noise spectrum that comes up from the hydrophones,” Roper said.

Detection could be used to implement speed limits

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist Harald Yurk said these devices are all helpful tools, along with witnesses in person.

“The technology is one of the tools that can be used, but it’s not like the magic wand,” Yurk said. “It is a combination of all of those.”

He suggests that the technology could be used to put speed limits in place of 10 to 12 knots when it detects the animals.

“That would at least, when a whale gets hit by a boat, it would reduce the risk of it being killed,” Yurk said.

Alvarez rents out her Sunshine Coast property for people to visit, and she hopes that by people being able to see and hear the whales, they’ll continue to care.

“It helps you to feel like they’re part of you, part of your ecosystem, part of what you want to protect,” Alvarez said.

— Alanna Kelly

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Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag | Logo design: Sködt McNalty