Blog
Countdown to COP 30: History of Belém
Learn about the history of the region of Belém, Pará, Brazil, the host city of COP 30 and see the list of past COP locations.
Brazil will host the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) in Belém, Pará, Brazil, on November 10-21, 2025. The chosen city will provide the world with a unique platform to discuss climate solutions, firmly rooted in the heart of the Amazon at the gateway to the largest rainforest in the world.
Belém is Portuguese for Bethlehem which in Hebrew means “the house of bread.” The city is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in northern Brazil. Belém is located approximately 100 km (62 miles) upriver from the Atlantic Ocean with a population of 1.4-2.5 million people depending on the selected boundaries of the metropolitan area. It is the 12th most populous city in Brazil and the second largest in the northern region of Brazil.Belém was the first European colony on the Amazon, founded by the Kingdom of Portugal in 1616. The newer part of the city has modern buildings and skyscrapers, but the older colonial portion retains the charm of tree-filled squares, churches, and traditional blue tiles.
The sugar trade was an important part of the region until the end of the 17th century, followed by cattle ranching in the 18th century, then the cultivation of coffee, rice, and cotton. Belém was the main exporting center of the Amazon rubber industry in the 19th century and continues to be the main commercial center of northern Brazil. The city includes the islands of Mosqueiro and Caratateua with many freshwater beaches that attract a large number of tourists in the summertime.
Belém has a tropical rainforest climate. There is no true dry season since the city averages over 60 mm (2+ inches) of rain every month, but June-November is noticeably drier than December-May. Temperatures vary little over the year, averaging about 26.5 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit). Tropical rainforest is the natural vegetation in and around the city.The last COP in South America was in Lima, Peru, in 2014 (COP20). The annual
COPs rotate each year through the five regions of the United Nations. The first COP was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. The Paris Agreement which established critical global temperature goals was negotiated in 2015 at COP21 in Paris, France. Since 2018, when the international Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) received official observer status:
Ram Ramanan and Merlyn Hough have been selected to be official A&WMA observers of COP30 in Belém. As official observers, we will be communicating back to the A&WMA members in real time through a blog that will be available to all members through the Association website. Posts from COP30 and previous COPs can be found on the A&WMA blog page at: https://www.awma.org/blog_home.asp?Category=12
- COP24 — Katowice, Poland (2018)
- COP25 — Madrid, Spain (2019)
- No COP was held in 2020 due to the pandemic
- COP26 — Glasgow, Scotland (2021)
- COP27 — Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (2022)
- COP28 — Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2023)
- COP29 — Baku, Azerbaijan (2024)
Ram Ramanan and Merlyn Hough have been selected to be official A&WMA observers of COP30 in Belém. As official observers, we will be communicating back to the A&WMA members in real time through a blog that will be available to all members through the Association website. Posts from COP30 and previous COPs can be found on the A&WMA blog page at: https://www.awma.org/blog_home.asp?Category=12
Comments
There have been no comments made on this article. Why not be the first and add your own comment using the form below.
Leave a comment
Commenting is restricted to members only. Please login now to submit a comment.