COP30 Week 2: is a COP of truth and of the people still possible?

Guest contributor Savio Carvalho, Head of Regions at 350.org

It’s often said that “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” At the UN Climate Summit in Belém, one truth stands above all: the world must free itself from fossil fuels, and that freedom is absolutely within reach. It’s been in the voices of people and in draft texts – it’s now up to world leaders to take it to real action.

Amid the political choreography inside the COP halls, one force has been impossible to ignore: people power. Inside the venues, in the streets of Belém, and in cities across the world, tens of thousands have marched, spoken out, and stood in solidarity. And their demand is clear: leaders must adopt an uncompromising roadmap to end fossil fuels, while tripling renewable energy and rapidly scaling wind and solar.

This is not just an energy transition; it is a justice transition. It is about rights, access, and ow…