It’s the end of day one at COP30 and despite some slight hitches with the venue - country pavilions were still being constructed the night before COP started and there were minor ceiling leaks following today's heavy downpours - things are well underway. Here are some of today’s developments: 

• Agenda setting: The COP agenda was agreed at the opening session after COP President André Aranha Corrêa do Lago agreed to hold special consultations on four topics: finance from wealthy countries, unilateral trade measures, increased emissions mitigation and data transparency. The COP President said this showed the desire for a “smooth and swift” start to COP.
• TFFF Pledges: In the days immediately preceding COP, several countries made commitments to Brazil’s initiative - the Tropic Forests Forever Facility - which will financially reward developing countries for preventing deforestation. The pledges include USD 3 billion from Norway, USD 1 billion from each of Brazil and Indonesia, and USD 500 million from France.
• Adaptation expectations: Adaptation is a big theme of COP30 for several reasons, including that the adaptation target under the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact goal (which was to raise adaptation spending to USD 40 billion by 2025) expires this year. Another point of contention in this theme is what and how we measure progress on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) (known as the GGA 'indicators').
• Indigenous presence: A big focus of COP30 has been ensuring greater indigenous representation, and Brazil has estimated that there will be approximately 3,000 delegates from indigenous communities around the world. Walking around COP, it certainly seems there is a greater diversity of participants, especially amongst native peoples, than in past years.
• US absence: California Governor Gavin Newsom is in Brazil and is hitting the climate circuit with a series of speaking events scheduled in the COP venue and around the host city, Belem. On his way to COP, he spoke at an event in São Paulo and claimed that the US federal government is in an “ideological war” and is “doubling down on stupidity”.
• COP31 host(s): Perhaps as a not-so-subtle hint for a decision to be made on the COP31 host, the UNFCCC situated the Turkiye and Australia country pavilions immediately next to each other in the blue zone. Speaking at an event in the Indonesian pavilion today, Minister Josh Wilson seemed committed to Adelaide hosting next year’s summit, however this is still to be confirmed.