2025 June Climate Meetings. UNFCCC/ Amira Grotendiek
Next week, the international climate community will convene in Bonn for the 62nd session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (June 16-26, 2025), or SB62. SB62 marks a critical milestone on the road to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, shaping the preparation and setting the stage for the negotiations.
The meetings in Bonn will be guided by a central principle set by COP30 Presidency: the idea of “global mutirão,” the power of collective action to achieve goals no single actor can accomplish alone. Brazil has launched this initiative to identify common ground across regions and sectors, finding areas of convergence that can drive ambitious climate action forward. The Presidency has underscored the urgent need for this collaborative approach, particularly at SB62, to rebuild the multilateral trust strained during COP29 and by widening geopolitical rifts.
Answering the global call for climate action, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is putting the spirit of “mutirão” into practice. At its core, EDF’s “mutirão” is already in our DNA. We play a unique role working with partners and allies across society – from local communities, major companies, Indigenous Peoples, governments and more – to find the shared goals that lead to groundbreaking solutions. Embracing collaboration and partnership has led us to impactful wins for planet and people: from supporting Indigenous Peoples’ participation in UN spaces to conserve forests, to gathering national oil companies together under an ambitious goal to slash methane emissions. Our commitment to this inclusive approach is essential for rebuilding the global trust needed for swift, fair, and ambitious climate action that delivers.
Here are the thematic issues and topics EDF will be actively engaged in during SB62:
The Baku to Belém Roadmap: Mobilizing $1.3 Trillion for Climate Action
COP29 in Baku saw the adoption of the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to mobilize $1.3 trillion in climate finance for developing countries by 2035. SB62 will see the first consultations for the ‘Baku to Belem Roadmap,’ which will guide the delivery this goal. EDF is actively engaged in the Roadmap consultation process – and an inclusive process is critical to ensure the Roadmap outlines a realistic path for all stakeholders to rapidly scale climate finance.
Ultimately, this is about getting money where it is most needed. Access to robust, quality finance is essential for enabling climate action, particularly in countries facing the greatest vulnerability. These funds are the resources that countries and communities need to unlock the solutions that will make the greatest impact for people and planet, such as incorporating blue foods into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), developing sustainable food systems, and supporting Indigenous participation in critical environmental processes. But without these end-users at the table to name the challenges in accessing climate finance, we won’t find the solutions – and that money will remain locked up.
Integrating Blue Food in NDCs
Aligning seemingly opposing goals is another way a mutirao can help us make progress. For example, countries have an opportunity to align two important goals: reducing climate pollution and providing excellent nutrition.
Aquatic blue foods are one unexpected solution to both challenges: including seaweed, shellfish or fish, these foods have significantly lower carbon footprints compared to terrestrial animal proteins – but remain underrepresented in climate policy frameworks. As nations prepare their NDCs 3.0 for COP30, integrating blue foods strategies, e.g., improving aquaculture feed and feeding management to reduce greenhouse emissions, can help countries achieve two critical goals.
EDF helps lead the Aquatic Blue Foods Coalition, which received a major boost when Brazil announced their decision to officially join the Coalition during the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC3), further demonstrating their resolve to support tangible climate solutions and strengthening the Coalition’s campaign to promote blue foods as integral components of global climate action. The outcomes of UNOC will feed into the Oceans Dialogue conversation and will be crucial for maintaining this growing momentum.
- Join us for “NDC 3.0 transition and implementation: Harnessing aquatic foods for a climate-resilient future,” to learn more about aquatic blue foods and EDF’s oceans work.
Building Momentum for Sustainable Food Systems
What about land-based food systems? The agricultural sector – responsible for nearly a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – continues to receive inadequate attention in global climate commitments and national policies.
As part of EDF’s sustained work in this sector, EDFers will participate in the upcoming CSO Strategy Workshop on Advancing Food Systems on the Road to COP30 in Bonn, to explore opportunities for collaboration and advancing sustainable food systems in NDCs, Just Transition in Agriculture, and even sustainable catering at COP30. The real measure of success will be when Parties officially adopt these food-related goals in their climate and adaptation strategies. This workshop is a crucial moment to build a united front. By collaborating now, we can pave the way for major breakthroughs at COP30 that help reduce or eliminate hunger while benefiting our planet.
Empowering Indigenous Voices
Inclusion of Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) is also at the core of mutirão. EDF actively works to uphold Indigenous rights by enabling meaningful IPLC participation and leadership in international climate processes and policy development. For 15 years, we’ve partnered with IPLC groups to support IPLC leaders travel to Bonn intercessional, regional climate weeks, and COPs to amplify their messages and priorities
As the negotiations intensify ahead of COP30, the discussions at Bonn represent a crucial opportunity to embed Indigenous rights and participation into the technical frameworks governing climate finance, climate plans, and carbon markets
- Join us at an event with the Asociacion de Foresteria Comunitaria de Guatemala Utz Che’ (Asociación Utz Che’), “Financial mechanisms to unlock sustainable Indigenous economies,” convening Indigenous leaders from across Latin America to discuss how finance can build resilient, biodiverse local economies at the jurisdictional level. It will spotlight community-led solutions, such as agroforestry, Indigenous land titling, and COP30’s potential to enable transformative change.
Looking Forward: From Ambition to Implementation
As we move from Baku to Belém, the climate community faces the critical challenge of translating ambitious commitments into concrete action. EDF is striving to make important contributions to the global mutirão to advance areas from finance to oceans and agriculture – all important pieces of the comprehensive approach needed to address the climate crisis.
The success of COP30 will ultimately be measured by implementation – SB62 must forge the path for ambitious and inclusive climate action. Let’s turn pledges into progress through global mutirão, with climate finance at the frontline.