Opinion by Mathew Carr
Nov. 22, 2025 — Looks like the world’s bad political, environmental and economic systems will remain in place for at least another year.
Instead of urgently deploying trillions of dollars of actual real climate finance at COP30 to help with the global-heating crisis or providing immediate “debt-for-climate” help, earlier promises appear to have been watered down (Reuters, see below).
Instead of urgent moves to narrow the frightening inequality crisis, the G20 set up a panel on it.
Finland, a member of the EU, at least called for wholesale changes to the multilateral system set up in 1945.
While these so called leaders pretend to want to save climate and erode inequality …their actions are to protect social media giants and “thriving too much” AI companies. They are recklessly placing the environment at risk, while forgetting or at least dramatically underplaying the importance of protecting human rights and humanity.
Here’s what they could have done, but apparently didn’t:
Finland’s comments to G20 (Otter AI):
“My biggest worry right now is that we are not seeing enough multilateralism in three key conflicts that have been raging around the world. One, Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Two, the situation in Gaza, and three, the situation in Sudan.
So I hope that we lean towards multilateralism. And let me say, coming from a small country, what I believe the West should do in this…I think the West should understand that the multilateral institutions that we created after World War Two, and that were upheld after the Cold War, the power structure of them is right now unfair. It needs to be changed. We need to distribute power in a world that exists today, not the world that existed in 1945. That is the best way for us to drive multilateralism and get it back on track.”
Brazil/Lula comments to G20 (Grok unchecked):
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil just delivered a keynote speech at the opening session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa (the first G20 summit on the African continent). The event started earlier today, and his remarks—shared live via a broadcast link—focused on global inequality, geopolitical tensions, and the need for reformed international institutions. Here’s a summary of the key points he made, drawn directly from the full transcript he posted:
Opening and G20 History
- Lula expressed joy at returning to South Africa and thanked host President Cyril Ramaphosa for the warm welcome.
- He highlighted this as the second G20 with full African Union participation (following its debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2024) and noted that every G20 member will have held the presidency at least once by the end of South Africa’s term.
- Reflecting on the G20’s origins in the 2008 financial crisis (which he attended in Washington), he criticized neoliberal policies like financial deregulation, tax havens, banker bonuses, and the outdated Bretton Woods institutions. While coordinated interventions prevented collapse, the response fell short, leading to austerity that deepened inequalities and geopolitical strains.
Current Global Challenges
- He warned against resurgent protectionism and unilateralism, which exacerbate problems and threaten the G20’s role as a dialogue forum. “If we can’t find paths within the G20, it won’t be possible in a world aflame.”
- On conflicts: Wars in Ukraine and Gaza have severe human costs and disrupt global energy and food security. Sudan’s humanitarian crisis (the worst in years) lacks resolution, and Latin America’s social/economic issues “won’t be solved by threats of force.”
- Inequality as a “systemic risk”: 90% of the world’s population lives in high-income-disparity countries. He called for declaring inequality a “global emergency” and redesigning rules/institutions that perpetuate asymmetries, including support for South Africa’s proposal for an Independent Inequality Panel (modeled on the IPCC for climate).
Economic and Development Proposals
- Debt crisis: Unacceptable that half the world’s population is in countries spending more on debt service than health/education; annual costs hit $1.4 trillion—more than climate action funding targets.
- Financing gaps: Global growth exceeded 3% last year, arms spending rose 9.4%, but Official Development Assistance fell 7%, creating a negative capital flow from South to North.
- Solutions: Innovate debt-for-development/climate swaps; urgent global taxation and super-rich levies; boost Agenda 2030 funding (or it remains “good intentions”).
- Food security: Link Brazil’s Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty with South Africa’s macro initiatives on food prices.
Closing Call to Action
- Echoing South Africa’s “Ubuntu” philosophy (from Mandela and Tutu eras), he stressed no nation prospers in isolation—solutions are “around this table.”
- He urged preserving the G20’s coordination amid rising tensions.
The speech aligns with Brazil’s ongoing G20 priorities from its 2024 presidency and sets up themes for the summit’s declaration (already approved). If you’re looking for the full video, it’s available via the broadcast link Lula shared: twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vOGwdOjrwoJB. For real-time reactions, the summit continues today with more sessions on resilient growth and global governance.
Reuters’ COP30 report:
COP30 climate talks in Brazil reach tentative deal, sources say
By Lisandra Paraguassu, Kate Abnett and Sudarshan Varadhan
November 22, 20252:47 PM GMTUpdated 10 mins ago
- Summary
- Negotiators overcome EU concerns over draft
- Brazilian presidency schedules closing plenary
- Draft deal proposes efforts to triple climate finance for developing nations by 2035
BELEM, Brazil, Nov 22 (Reuters) – The COP30 climate talks in Brazil have reached a tentative deal after negotiators resolved a protracted standoff over action to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide climate finance.
The two-week conference, billed as a chance to show that nations can still join forces to tackle climate change despite the absence of the United States, had been scheduled to end on Friday but dragged into overtime.
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The European Union had been pressing for language on the move away from fossil fuels, but had come up against stiff resistance from the Arab Group of nations including top oil exporter Saudi Arabia.
The impasse was resolved after all-night negotiations led by host nation Brazil, according to negotiators.
A draft deal issued on Saturday showed countries had agreed on steps to help speed up climate action, review related trade barriers, and triple the money given to developing countries to help them withstand extreme weather events.
The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.
“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.
The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session. Any deal needs a consensus to be approved.
FOSSIL FUEL PLEDGE MOVED INTO ‘ROADMAP’
COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago said on Saturday that the presidency would publish a side text on fossil fuels as well as on protecting forests – instead of adding them to the official agreement – as there had been no consensus on these issues at the global climate talks.
“I will announce that the Brazilian presidency will do the two ‘roadmaps’ because visibly we did not have maturity to reach consensus. I believe if we do it under the presidency we will have results,” he said.
The decision to triple climate finance by 2035, meanwhile, will be part of the COP30 agreement, resolving a key demand from poorer nations struggling to cope with climate impacts.
