COP30’s biggest fault lines, explained.

In this final installment of our COP30 arc, we zoom out from Belém to map the conference’s defining tensions: ambitious speeches versus stalled outcomes, science-led urgency versus market-led “solutions,” and the growing leadership of the Global South. We unpack why carbon markets remain so contested, what “net zero” really allows, and how China’s energy transition is reshaping the politics of global climate action. Then we go deep on the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)—a headline proposal to pay nations to keep forests standing—through a clear-eyed climate justice critique from Carola Mejía of LATINDADD. We close with what COP30 did (and didn’t) deliver—and what to watch next.

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10 New Insights in Climate Science

Nation article

No mention of fossil fuels

1600 + fossil fuel lobbyists at COP 30

Indigenous Flotilla

Climate Home News Indigenous access to COP30

Climate Tracker Report

Episode Guest: Carola Mejía

Latindadd

TFFF: A False Solution

Asamblea Against the TFFF

Devex: TFFF Origin Story 

Hosted, produced, and edited by Clark Marchese 

Cover art by Jomiro Eming

Theme music by Nela Ruiz

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