Brazil's minister for environment and climate change, Marina Silva, defended the importance of equally pursuing mitigation and adaptation to reduce climate change on the sidelines of the Cop 30 Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"We must adapt and mitigate with the same force and strength," she said. "We can't treat the symptoms without treating the causes."
Mitigation relates to reducing emissions while adaptation focuses on adjusting to the effects of climate change.
Silva was responding to billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates' recent memo criticizing the climate community's focus on reducing emissions, just days before countries gather in Belem, Brazil, for Cop 30 with the implementation of emissions-cutting actions high on the agenda.
Governor Helder Barbalho of Para, the state hosting Cop 30, echoed Silva.
"We face a climate emergency which demands that the agendas of emissions reduction, adaptation, resilience and energy transition are at the center of global agendas," he said.
Cities on the road to Cop
Delegates gathered in Rio stressed the importance of city, state and other regional governments' actions to contribute to a successful Cop.
"Cities, states and regions are where the climate fight can be won or lost," executive secretary Simon Stiell of the UN climate body UNFCC said.
Participants downplayed US president Donald Trump not sending a high-level delegation to Cop 30.
"It's a good thing, actually, that they are not sending anybody," former US special envoy for climate change Todd Stern said. "It wasn't going to be constructive if they did. It's an unpredictable bunch."
Even oil and natural gas-producing states such as New Mexico are contributing, governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said, highlighting that her state has increased hydrocarbon production while reducing methane emissions in recent years.
"Even without federal policy … our commitments are going to continue to keep America accountable and invested in where we are globally," Lujan said.
Michael Bloomberg, co-host of the event through Bloomberg Philanthropies, announced a $168mn commitment to support local climate leadership, notably through the C40 coalition of cities and Global Covenant of Mayors.
Representatives of subnational governments and networks, representing over 14,000 local leaders, signed the Local Leaders Declaration to Cop 30, in which they pledged to contribute to the coming decade of climate action.
The three pledges include supporting countries in reaching their national climate targets, directing climate financing to both mitigation and adaption with a portfolio of 2,500 local projects, and pushing for multilevel collaboration and action for the Cop to be a space of implementation.
For Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona, the most important outcome from the event will be a statement demanding a commitment to sustainable artificial intelligence.
"As artificial intelligence grows, it must be powered sustainably," she said. "It must use clean energy."
