Politicians usually have the podium at the annual global climate summit but occasionally voices from the front lines and the sidelines of the crisis fight their way through.
Steven Victor comes from a country at the front line, the tiny Pacific island nation of Palau where he is minister for agriculture, fisheries and the environment.
He spoke at Cop30 on Monday on behalf of 39 small island states and low-lying coastal communities that are among the most vulnerable countries on earth due to the rising seas and increasing ferocity of tropical storms.
He told fellow ministers newly arrived in the host city of Belém, Brazil that their climate action efforts and goal of keeping global warming from permanently exceeding the 1.5 degree threshold were “dangerously off-track”.
RM Block
By dangerous, he means the countries he spoke for are in danger of disappearing.
“For small island states, 1.5 degrees is not a political slogan. It is a non-negotiable survival response for our people, our culture and our livelihoods,” he said.
It was a sobering reminder of what is at stake at Cop30.
Science often sits on the sidelines of the summit. Seats in negotiating rooms found for legal counsel, policy experts and, sometimes, oil and gas interests, but rarely for a scientific adviser.
[ Thousands hit streets of Belém to call for action during crucial Cop30 summitOpens in new window ]
But for the first time this year, planetary science has its own pavilion – a dedicated space to showcase work, host workshops and seminars and try to reinforce the message that words at podiums won’t cool rising temperatures.
In an open letter to the summit, scientists who have run events there for the past week told leaders and officials their performance on climate change was “unacceptable”.
“Beyond 1.5 degrees, the risk of crossing tipping points increases, and with it the risk of severe cascading impacts,” warned the letter, signed first by Carlos Nobre, the renowned Brazilian expert in the joint impacts of climate change and deforestation.
“In each case, the impacts would be catastrophic – this cannot be overstated.
“Science shows us we need at least 5 per cent emissions reductions every year, starting now. Unfortunately current pledges equal a total 5 per cent reduction in 10 years.
“It is impossible to stop temperatures from rising and getting back to 1.5 degrees without quickly phasing out fossil fuels. This is physics.”
The Planetary Guardians, a collective of activists who include former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, added their voice to the call.
Highlighting the critical role the rainforests play in cooling the planet, they stood outside the meeting room where the ministers gathered to speak, to deliver some startling facts.
The drought that affected the Amazon region in the last two years was made 30 times more likely by human-driven climate change and the same region endured 114,000 forest fires.
“When the Amazon degrades and large parts shift from carbon sink to source, the entire planet will feel the heat,” they said.
In another room, representatives from Tuvalu and Fiji spoke of turning up the heat in a legal sense.
They were involved in securing the landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice last July, that found states have a legal duty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, keep within the 1.5 degree threshold and be accountable for damages caused by climate change.
Vishal Prasad, of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, the movement that initiated the case, said leaders needed to listen to the people it spoke for and the reasons they went to law.
“If this Cop sidelines those voices, it’s not only tone deaf, it is out of step with the International Court of Justice,” he said.
