The two extraordinary young activists making me feel optimistic at Cop30
Guardian13 hrs
Fire Forces Evacuation at COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil
A fire erupts at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, evacuating thousands of delegates before being contained within 30 minutes. Do climate summits represent elite hypocrisy destroying the environment, or humanity's best hope for fighting the climate crisis?
Above: A fire burns in a pavilion during the COP30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, on Nov. 20, 2025. Image credit: Jacqueline Lisboa/Getty Images
The Spin
Climate-concerned narrative
This fire is a metaphor for the yet-unmanaged warming of the Earth and its resultant natural disasters. These gatherings represent humanity's best hope for defeating global heating through legal innovation and international cooperation. The movement includes inspiring activists working to establish rights for future generations and holding fossil fuel corporations accountable. From biodiversity issues to plastic pollution, young people are demanding action before it's too late.
Climate-skeptic narrative
If there's any irony here, it lies in the future destruction of the world should COP30 achieve its dystopian climate agenda. COP30, for which the government of Brazil cut down vast swaths of rainforest to build roads, is a gathering of political elites to draw up plans for how to control the lives of regular people. They're allowed to fly around the world in gas-guzzling private jets as they lecture the rest of the world on limiting their emissions.