MIT at COP30: How Research, Policy, and Collaboration is Leading to Actionable Outcomes
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The UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) is the largest global platform for discussions, negotiations, and greater steps toward action on climate change. In Belém, Brazil, the gateway to the Amazon forest, COP30 took place with more than 56,000 world leaders, scientists, private-sector organizations, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society members. On November 10-21, a decade after the Paris Agreement, no formal agreements were reached on fossil fuels and deforestation roadmaps. However, outside the formal—and at times divisive negotiations—the summit elicited new pledges and action plans from cities, states, countries, and the private sector. Overall, leaders showed signs of moving from negotiation to implementation—from debating what to do to how to do it.
A New Carbon Coalition
In an era of trade wars and tariffs, negotiators agreed for the first time to hold discussions on trade policies and climate action. Inspired and informed by a Global Climate Policy Project (GCPP) at Harvard and MIT report, leaders from 20 countries and the European Union eventually signed on to a new Open Coalition for Compliance Carbon Markets. Based on modeling scenarios, the GCPP report outlines a practical pathway to decarbonizing heavy industry, independent of the pace of global consensus within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, while keeping developing-economy priorities at the forefront.
“Global leaders took an important first step to advance carbon pricing, avert trade frictions, and unlock billions in new funding,” says report co-author Catherine Wolfram, the William Barton Rogers Professor of Energy Economics, professor of Applied Economics, faculty co-lead of the Global Climate Policy Project, and affiliated faculty member at the MIT Climate Policy Center.
Signatories from Brazil, China, the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, Rwanda, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Armenia, Zambia, and France, Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand, Armenia, Andorra, Monaco, Guinea, Nigeria—representing more than 40% of global emissions—intend to work “expeditiously” to establish a forum for discussing experiences and sharing lessons on carbon pricing, carbon accounting, offsets, and verification systems. The historic agreement to accelerate multilateral coordination on carbon pricing and trade is noteworthy because it demonstrates that individual countries from all economic levels are realizing that collaboration is key to making progress without the involvement of the second-largest emitter in the world—the United States.
“This marks a shift from fragmented carbon-pricing efforts to a more coordinated global approach,” says co-author Arathi Rao, director of GCPP at Harvard and MIT. “It’s signaling broad momentum toward aligning carbon markets, strengthening integrity, and making climate action more effective and equitable. This is exactly the kind of practical cooperation GCPP has championed—and a meaningful step toward raising ambition and making real, measurable climate progress together.
MIT Climate Policy Center’s Coordinated Approach
For the first time since its inception, MIT’s Climate Policy Center (CPC) led the coordination of the Institute’s dynamic presence at the high-level summit. Members of the MIT community—faculty, staff, researchers, students, alumni, and partners—participated in the two-week-long conference, expo, and official UN meetings. They shared research and influenced global dialogue on climate finance and systemic investing, building energy efficiency, urban mitigation and adaptation, payment for ecosystem services, poverty and the environment, climate action and education, sustainable communities, and more. Ultimately, they demonstrated that MIT’s rigorous research, in collaboration with global partners, can lead to meaningful climate action.
Resilience and Adaptation
Building resilience to climate impacts took center stage with a COP30 pledge to triple finance for climate adaptation by 2035. This means that of the $300 billion+ slated to flow to developing countries, about $120 billion should go toward adapting and building resilience to climate change impacts. Leaders also agreed to advance a global goal on adaptation, by adopting a set of indicators. In addition, the UNFCCC Technology Mechanism released an official policy brief based on work done by MIT’s Climate Policy Center (CPC), the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, and UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. The culmination of a year-long collaboration, the brief offers recommendations to countries seeking to decarbonize the buildings sector, a critical task for moving the world towards a carbon-neutral future.
“Using this policy brief, countries can choose policy options and climate technologies that work for them,” says Policy Director of CPC and Managing Director of MIT's Policy Lab Drew Story, who led the project. “Having an authoritative, evidence-based set of recommendations makes it easier for policymakers to make those decisions and weigh the pros and cons of different technologies alongside other policy objectives that they may have.
“Contributing to this brief is an excellent fit with the CPC’s mission of serving as a trusted, non-partisan resource for policymakers who seek to advance evidence-based climate policy in the next decade,” says CPC Executive Director Bethany Patten, who moderated a discussion with a panel of an international experts.
Cities Leading Climate Action
While world leaders struggled to reach consensus, leaders of cities around the globe found common ground and new paths toward climate action. The MIT City Science Center and the City Science Network played a key role in these advances, as they took part in 10 events, including exhibitions and strategic meetings that brought together researchers, local and international stakeholders, global agencies, and cultural partners. Over the course of the week, the team contributed perspectives on urban innovation, climate resilience, and adaptive governance—at the Blue Zone, the EY House, and partner institutions.
From AI-supported collaboration frameworks to direct engagements with UN leadership, MIT’s activities reflected the expanding role of cities in shaping climate action and the importance of interdisciplinary research in guiding this transformation.
A key moment at COP30 was the strategic meeting between Kent Larson from MIT City Science and UN-Habitat’s global and regional leadership to explore formal collaboration between the UN-Habitat City Network and the MIT City Science Network. In the Cities and
Regions Hub Pavilion of the Blue Zone, discussion focused on aligning methodologies, identifying potential pilot cities, and advancing a shared agenda centered on urban innovation, the global housing crisis, and adaptive governance. Both organizations expressed strong interest in developing a long-term partnership.
At an official side event in the Blue Zone, Luis Alonso of City Science and Jeffrey Schlegelmilch from Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness helped participants explore how universities can collaborate more effectively with communities exposed to climate risk. Speakers shared examples from disaster preparedness, UNICEF field operations, and MIT’s work on urban mitigation and governance systems.
Another Blue Zone side event featured a key conversation between the City Science team and David Forné Massoni, Secretary of State for Energy Transition, Transport and Mobility of Andorra. Discussion focused on how the MIT City Science Network can continue supporting Andorra’s work on adaptation, resilience, and sustainable mountain development as part of the broader collaboration already underway through the Andorra Living Lab.
At the UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub in the Blue Zone, Larson led a panel session introducing new approaches to climate decision-making through AI, data, and systemic portfolio design. At the EY House, he proposed a new alliance of city mayors and urban decision makers interested in measuring their current social, economic, and environmental performance with the help of advanced modeling and simulation tools.
The Amazon, Art, and Indigenous Peoples
For the first time ever, the COP summit highlighted the importance of healthy ecosystems and land restoration, and the voices of Indigenous Peoples. Around 3,000 members of traditional communities took part in COP30 debates, the largest Indigenous participation in the history of the conference. During the event, Brazil announced the creation of 10 new Indigenous territories, one of which encompasses over 78% of the Amazon National Park. In recognition of these important milestones, MIT contributed thought-provoking creative exhibits, policy recommendations, and opportunities for collaboration.
Marking its fourth time at COP, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) convened a session with MIT’s CPC, where COP30 participants collaborated with researchers and indigenous leaders to generate evidence-based policy advice on payment for ecosystem services. J-PAL LAC Executive Director Paula Pedro led the session, along with The Nature Conservancy, the J-PAL Latin America and Caribbean Office, Inter American Development Bank, Brazil Ministry of Environment, Pará State government, Guatemala Ministry of the Environment, Peru Environmental Enforcement Agency, Mexico Forest Protection Agency, and Community Jameel.
At Goals House, MIT Professor Esther Duflo spoke about the intersection of climate and economic growth and discussed indigenous leaders' priorities with Kleber Karipuna, moderated by The New York Times' David Gelles and co-hosted by J-PAL, Community Jameel, and Institutoserrapilheira.
At the Food and Agriculture Pavilion, J-PAL presented evidence-backed interventions from J-PAL and CEGA’s research portfolio to help farmers tap into markets to strengthen their resilience to economic and climate shocks. Also, J-PAL Senior Manager for Climate Policy Andre Zollinger shared practical, evidence-informed solutions at an event marking the launch of the Food Systems Transformation Science and Philanthropy Advisory Group (FST-SPAG) portfolio, which is mobilizing over $522 million in targeted investment for food systems.
At a multi-piece cinematic installation called Imaginary Atlas: Amazonia, sponsored by MIT City Science, and led by MIT doctoral student Gabriela Bila, COP30 participants explored speculative Amazonian futures grounded in ancestral knowledge, climate data, and emerging technologies. Imaginary Atlas: Amazonia, co-created with the MIT City Science group, showed how artistic practice can act as research and territorial awareness. The session highlighted how cultural narratives can complement scientific approaches and support Brazil’s broader goals for climate resilience and sustainability. From MIT's City Infrastructure Equity Lab (CIEL), an exhibit demonstrated the realities of Amazonian river cities by exploring how urban development can be re-centered around rivers—integrating them into spatial, ecological, and infrastructural systems.
