John Imes: COP30: From Rio to São Paulo to Belém—local leadership driving global impact

The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.

After opening COP30 in Rio de Janeiro with hundreds of mayors, governors, and regional leaders at the Local Leaders Forum, the momentum carried straight into São Paulo and then Belém – and the message has remained consistent, clear, and urgent: the world is looking to local and state leaders to deliver real climate progress when national governments stall. America is showing up – and America is still in.

Turning Ambition Into Implementation: Highlights from São Paulo

At the Climate Innovation Forum in São Paulo, more than 1,300 policymakers, investors, and business innovators from 90 countries gathered to move climate ambition into action. Sessions spotlighted the economic upside of decarbonization, the surge of climate finance, and how AI, industrial decarbonization, biodiversity, and resilient supply chains are reshaping global markets.

The through-line across two days: innovation is outpacing politics, and implementation is now a global rallying cry.

America Is All In: Subnational Leadership on Display

In Belém, U.S. governors, mayors, universities, and private-sector partners are demonstrating that – even with federal headwinds – American climate leadership remains grounded, credible, and measurable.

At the flagship America’s Climate Leadership in Action event, California Governor Gavin Newsom and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham underscored the economic and community benefits of cutting pollution and accelerating clean energy. Newsom emphasized a simple truth: local leaders are providing the stability, ambition, and reliability the world needs.

This is America Is All In’s core message:

U.S. subnationals are reducing emissions, lowering energy costs, creating jobs, and strengthening the Paris Agreement – no matter what happens in Washington.

A Breakthrough COP for Super-Pollutants and Methane Action

One of the most impactful themes at COP30 is the global focus on super-pollutants, especially methane (with 80 times the heat-trapping power of carbon dioxide) as the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow warming this decade.

New satellite-driven monitoring and reporting tools – including alerts from the UN’s International Methane Emissions Observatory – have already led to rapid repair of major leaks in countries like Turkmenistan, Argentina, Yemen, and Iraq.

The takeaway: transparent, real-time methane data is changing the game, unlocking accountability and accelerating abatement efforts worldwide.

Carbon Business Council: Scaling Removal and High-Integrity Markets

The Carbon Business Council and its partners are using COP30 to advance breakthroughs in carbon removal, high-integrity carbon markets, and sustainable development. Strategic agreements – including work with ABEEólica (Brazilian Association of Wind Energy and New Technologies) – are helping Brazil scale a trusted carbon market framework while aligning business leadership with national climate plans.

Their presence reinforces the growing role of business coalitions in delivering practical, data-driven solutions.

Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialization

With support from 35 countries and major international institutions, the Belém Declaration is one of the clearest signals yet that the global economy is moving toward green industrialization – cleaner manufacturing, modernized supply chains, just-transition principles, and new economic opportunities, especially for the Global South.

This aligns directly with what ASBN Senior Advisor for Climate & Energy Michael Green — who is leading this year’s delegation — has emphasized: the business community has both the responsibility and the opportunity to drive climate solutions through investment, policy advocacy, and industrial modernization that lowers costs, creates jobs, and builds more resilient communities.

Indigenous Leadership at the Center

One of the most powerful moments of COP30 was the massive march of Indigenous leaders in Belém – a historic call for land rights, protection of defenders, and meaningful inclusion in global climate outcomes. Their message was echoed across panels and negotiations: climate justice and Indigenous rights are inseparable.

The Local-to-Global Throughline

From Rio to São Paulo to Belém, one message resonates:

Climate progress happens where people live – in states, cities, universities, tribal nations, farms, and businesses. That’s where innovation happens, where jobs are created, and where clean-energy projects are built:

• Local leaders are cutting pollution and lowering energy bills.
• Member states are growing their clean-energy economies three times faster than the rest of the country.
• Businesses are investing at record levels because clean energy is cheaper and more reliable.
• International cooperation is expanding – from California to Wisconsin to Seoul, London, and the Brazilian Amazon.

As COP30 wrapped up, the world isn’t just watching national negotiators – it’s watching subnational leaders deliver. And that’s where hope is turning into action.

– John Imes is co-founder and director of the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, the Wisconsin Affiliate of the American Sustainable Business Council, and serves as village president of Shorewood Hills, Wisconsin. He attended COP30 as an NGO Observer delegate and member of the ASBC Climate & Energy Working Group