Uganda’s Climate Agenda at COP30: Stakes and Priorities

By Eunice Asinguza

This month, the world’s climate diplomats are at Belém, Brazil, for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) and the 10th birthday celebration of the Paris Agreement.

We expect plenty of serious talk about saving the planet, a few uncomfortable reminders about broken promises, and at least a photo or two of world leaders planting symbolic trees.

The planet, meanwhile, continues to sizzle like a neglected saucepan. With record global temperatures and extreme weather growing nastier by the day, COP30 has been billed as the “decade checkpoint” - a chance to see whether humanity is still within shouting distance of that famous 1.5°C goal.

This year’s conference looks at lands right in the Amazon rainforest, the world’s largest carbon sink and, ironically, the site of Brazil’s newly approved offshore oil drilling leases. Nothing says “commitment to climate action” quite like a fresh round of oil exploration near the lungs of the Earth.

Plotlines for the global climate show

Brazil, the host, promises COP30 will revolve around three big words: implementation, inclusion, and innovation. The quick translation to this: time to do what was promised, include everyone this time, and think up new ways to fix what’s broken.

The agenda reads like a climate to-do list scribbled by a stressed global community:

•       Keep warming under 1.5°C (we’re at about 1.3°C already, so no pressure).

•         Update national climate plans for 2030.

•         Mobilize more climate finance - the polite way of saying “Dear rich countries, please pay up.”

•        Protect forests, oceans, and the world’s most vulnerable people.
 
COP30 will rotate around the following discussions, and more.

Global climate cooperation: Delegates will try to convince each other (again) that teamwork makes the dream work. Uganda will push the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the idea that those who caused the mess should clean up most of it.

The 1.5°C Goal: Countries will review their progress toward this delicate temperature threshold, also known as “the line between uncomfortable heat and global chaos.”

National Climate Plans: Every country must submit a new climate plan by 2025. The hope is that these plans will be ambitious and realistic, not just polished PowerPoint presentations.

Climate Finance: Developing countries will be pushing for the money that has been promised since, well, forever. COP29 set a target of $300 billion per year, but scientists estimate that to meet global needs, that figure must balloon to $1.3 trillion by 2030.

Expect passionate pleas for grants instead of loans, because, as one African negotiator quipped last year, “We can’t repay loans with drought.”

Adaptation and Resilience: Uganda and its neighbours will be calling for predictable support to deal with floods, droughts, and disasters that don’t respect national borders.

Think early warning systems, climate-smart agriculture, and infrastructure that doesn’t collapse every rainy season.

Forests, Biodiversity, and Ecosystems: Brazil will highlight the Amazon, while Uganda will remind everyone that African forests matter too. Both agree: trees are cheaper than carbon capture machines and far more photogenic.

Indigenous Peoples and Communities: Expect a strong focus on indigenous wisdom and participation. This will be a reminder that the people who least caused climate change often know the most about living sustainably.

Cross-Cutting Issues: There will also be talk about AI for climate solutions, gender equality, and green cities. Yes, even robots and feminism are part of the climate conversation now, and rightly so.

Brazil’s Six Climate Pillars, call it the Conference Menu. COP30 is being neatly arranged under six broad “pillars,” because no international meeting is complete without fancy categorisation: Energy, Industry & Transport; Forests, Oceans & Biodiversity; Agriculture & Food Systems; and, Cities, Infrastructure & Water. Other pillars are Human & Social Development; and Enablers & Accelerators such as science, technology, and, of course, money.

Reality check for Uganda

Uganda’s climate ambitions are impressive, and expensive. The country’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution commits to cutting emissions by 24.7% below business-as-usual by 2030. This covers everything from forests and energy to waste management and agriculture.

The price tag? A cool $28.1 billion by 2030. That is more than Uganda’s annual GDP, so yes, help is needed. So far, only $4.1 billion has been raised domestically. The remaining 85% will have to come from external partners. To tackle this, Uganda has launched a National Climate Finance Strategy (2025-2030), essentially a roadmap for how to turn ambition into action.

Meanwhile, climate change isn’t waiting. Droughts and floods have become Uganda’s uninvited guests, wrecking crops and livelihoods. In 2022 alone, more than 518,000 people in the northeast faced hunger due to drought, and floods weeks later killed 24 more. Scientists call this “compound disaster” while locals just call it bad luck.

What Uganda needs from COP30

Show Me the Money: Uganda wants climate finance that is predictable, accessible, and not wrapped in red tape. The country will push for grants and ultra-soft loans, not the kind that come with “conditions tougher than a Kampala pothole.”

Green Energy Transition: The country is ready to move from diesel to solar, but it won’t sacrifice jobs or livelihoods. The message is clear: “We didn’t start the fire, but we would like a fair shot at putting it out.”

Adaptation and Resilience: Uganda will pitch practical, homegrown solutions from drought-tolerant crops to solar-powered pumps. The hope? That the world will invest in ideas that already work.

Nature-Based Solutions: Forest protection remains front and centre. Uganda is eyeing Brazil’s proposal for a global tropical forest fund and will gladly remind everyone that its own forests also breathe for the world.

Technology and Capacity Building: We want better access to clean tech, the kind that doesn’t break after one season. From electric buses to data systems predicting floods, the country is serious about modernising its climate fight.

Inclusive Governance: Uganda will champion inclusion. All should be on board: women, youth, men and indigenous communities must be part of the decision-making. After all, climate change doesn’t discriminate, so solutions shouldn’t either.

Uganda’s delegation, including officials from NEMA, the environment ministry, and the finance ministry will work with other African countries to push for a united front. Back home, journalists and activists will be watching closely, ready to ask the classic Ugandan question: “So what came out of the conference this time?”

Africa’s unified voice

COP30 follows the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa that happened in September 2025, where leaders agreed that adaptation is priority number one and loans are out.

The Addis Ababa Declaration and the Baku-Belém roadmap now aim to unlock $1.3 trillion per year for Africa by 2035. This figure sounds impressive until you realise Africa will need twice as much by 2030.

Still, Uganda will stick with the African Union’s unified position: climate finance reform, debt relief tied to climate action, and global fairness in the energy transition.

The big question

And so, as the delegates descend on Belém, between rainforest humidity and political hot air, Uganda’s question remains simple: Will COP30 actually deliver, or will it just be another well-catered conversation about saving the planet someday?

For Uganda, it is not about headlines. It is about getting the finance, technology, and justice that make climate commitments real. Because while the rest of the world debates who pays for the damage, Ugandans are already paying in lost crops, broken infrastructure, and displaced communities.

If COP30 delivers, Uganda could walk away with hope and resources. If not? Well, at least the coffee in Brazil is strong enough to keep everyone awake through another round of promises.

Ms. Eunice Asinguza is the Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager at the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).