The Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM) arrived at COP30 in Belém with nearly a decade of experience engaging in climate negotiations since the Paris Agreement. Yet even for seasoned advocates, nothing compared to encountering this city at the meeting point between the Amazon and the sea—a place overflowing with life, resilience, and ancestral wisdom. Belém welcomed the summit with the beating heart of the world’s most vital ecosystem, setting the stage for a COP unlike any before. For LSM, this COP carried a special resonance. “This COP was special for many reasons. On a personal level, it marked 30 years since my first trip to Brazil for my PhD research on the Economy of Communion. It was here that I first fell in love with this vast, vibrant, and generous land. They say that when you spend time in Brazil, you return home with ‘saudade’—a longing that settles into your heart. That has certainly been true for me,” shares Lorna Gold. LSM came carrying the spiritual energy of the Raising Hope Conference in Castel Gandolfo, where Pope Leo XIV had touched the melting glacier of Greenland and blessed the Church’s shared commitment to avert climate catastrophe. To make that commitment visible in Belém, the team brought powerful symbols:

• the iconic image of the Pope touching the glacier,
• a vessel of the melted glacier water, and
• the 40-meter blue silk River of Hope.

Supported by more than a hundred volunteers, LSM sought to embody a message that was both deeply spiritual and profoundly political: climate justice cannot wait.

A Historic Catholic COP

COP30 had long been anticipated as a “Catholic COP,” marking ten years since Laudato Si’ and the Paris Agreement. The Church showed up with unprecedented unity and force. The Brazilian Bishops’ Conference (CNBB), CELAM, REPAM, and bishops’ conferences from Asia and Africa crafted a bold joint statement calling for a just transition, an end to fossil fuels, climate reparations, and the rejection of false solutions. Endorsed by hundreds of Catholic and faith-based groups—including LSM—this document became the moral compass for our collective witness. Prior to the COP some wondered whether the transition to Pope Leo XIV would soften the Church’s prophetic stance. That doubt vanished on the first night. As the sun set over Belém, LSM joined cardinals, bishops, religious, and laypeople from around the world in a moving procession honoring environmental martyrs. Carrying the glacier image, the melted glacier water, and the River of Hope through a basilica filled with nine cardinals and more than forty bishops, the Church declared—with its joyful presence—that its commitment to creation is stronger than ever.

Spirituality at the Center

Throughout COP, spirituality, culture, and values were not side notes—they were central. LSM participated in multiple panels on the spiritual crisis beneath the climate emergency, the transition to Pope Leo XIV, and the proposal for Peoples’ Determined Contributions (PDCs). For the first time at a COP, there was a sense that negotiators and observers were ready to hear—and take seriously—the wisdom of faith communities. And everywhere LSM went, the River of Hope became a magnet. Negotiators, activists, youth, Indigenous leaders, and religious sisters gathered around it. In one striking moment, the team unfurled the river inside the main corridor outside the negotiation hall during a live TV interview. Spontaneous singing filled the space—almost costing the team their UN badges—but beautifully echoing Pope Francis’ invitation in Laudato Si’: “Let us sing as we go.”

Marching with activists, people that want to make a difference

During the global climate march—one of the largest since Glasgow in 2021 —the LSM delegation walked alongside Indigenous leaders, priests, cardinals, nuns, families, and young activists. As singing and dancing erupted along the streets of Belém, hope became palpable, embodied, contagious. This was the joy that resists despair, the courage Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV call the world to embrace.

A Burning Symbol

Just hours after LSM departed the venue, news broke of a fire at the COP30 site. The symbolism was difficult to ignore. Our world is burning. Yet the message here is that the fire was quickly extinguished and order restored. May this be a sign—and a prayer—that global negotiations, too, can choose the path of life.

Beyond the Negotiations: A Mixed Outcome With Seeds of Hope

Despite the depth of faith-based engagement, the final COP30 outcome fell well short of the moral urgency required. For LSM, much of what we advocated did not make it into the final text. In particular, the removal of any reference to fossil fuel phase out left a gaping hole in the global response. The result was, in many ways, disappointing. Yet amid the frustration were meaningful breakthroughs:

1. The Belém Action Mechanism

LSM welcomed the adoption of this new mechanism, offering real potential for progress on forests, climate finance, and just transitions. Action and implementation is now essential. 

2. Colombia–Netherlands Leadership

Their announcement to co-convene efforts to end fossil fuel expansion brings fresh momentum to the global call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty—a movement grounded in the same ethical clarity that once led the Holy See to champion the Landmine Treaty. LSM strongly hopes the Holy See will join this new treaty effort and join the first intergovernmental conference in Colombia in April 2026

3. Peoples’ Determined Contributions (PDCs)

The proposal put forward by LSM advanced substantially. LSM presented the first 2000 PDCs to the COP Presidency – but plans to do much more in collaboration with other faiths and cultural institutions. Commitments from individuals and institutions—many from the Global Citizens’ Assembly—were integrated into the Belém Action Mechanism. This opens a new era of collaboration between faith communities and global civil society. By COP31 in Turkey, LSM aims to present an even more robust Catholic roadmap aligned with the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

A Church More United Than Ever

Pope Leo’s message to delegates, delivered at the Amazon Museum surrounded by the memory of Pope Francis’ love for the Amazon, became a bridge between pontificates. His impromptu remarks affirmed the leadership of the Global South and the continuity of the Church’s prophetic mission. For anyone wondering whether Laudato Si’ would fade after Pope Francis, the answer in Belém was unmistakable:  Laudato Si’ lives on. It lives in the Amazon. In youth demanding justice. In Indigenous guardians of creation. In every parish, community, and volunteer give themselves to healing our common home. In other words…. it has taken root!

Carrying the River Forward

As LSM looks to the year ahead, the Movement emerges from COP30 more rooted, more united, and more determined. The River of Hope that flowed through Belém now flows into our global mission—toward COP31 and beyond. And with the Church standing together as never before, we walk with confidence in the promise at the heart of Laudato Si’: another way is not only possible— it is already beginning.

Watch Summary video