Nacional at COP30: listen to all episodes of the series

The series Nacional at COP30 aired on Rádio Nacional in the months leading up to COP30, held in Belém, Brazil. It was the first time the world’s largest climate conference took place in the country, at the gateway to the Amazon.

Listeners follow the history of the Conference of the Parties (COP) — the main decision-making body of a United Nations convention — and learn how it works, its guiding principles, who participates, the issues under discussion, and the commitments undertaken by countries - especially regarding action to address climate change, the central focus of the Climate COP.

The episodes trace the origins of the COP process, beginning with the conventions signed at the Rio Earth Summit (1992). They cover landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, and explain key concepts including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), consensus-based decision-making, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

The series also details the structure of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the preparatory work leading up to the annual conference, and the negotiation process. In addition, it explains how a COP is organized in practice: who makes up the delegations, how the Blue Zone and Green Zone operate, and what takes place before and during the conference’s fourteen days.

All 14 episodes are available in Portuguese, English, and Spanish (click to access the complete list).

Nacional at COP30 was researched, produced, and presented by Nathália Mendes. Messias Melo was responsible for editing and sound design. A production of Rádio Nacional, a public station of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC).

Check out the complete list of episodes in the series:

EPISODE 1 – WHAT IS COP?

EPISODE 2 – RIO EARTH SUMMIT AND THE HISTORY OF COP

EPISODE 3 – THE OTHER COPS

EPISODE 4 – THE PARTIES

EPISODE 5 – THE ANNEXES

EPISODE 6 – THE PRINCIPLES

EPISODE 7 – THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

EPISODE 8 – THE PARIS AGREEMENT

EPISODE 9 – NDCS

EPISODE 10 – BEFORE COP

EPISODE 11 – THE DELEGATIONS

EPISODE 12 – THE ZONES

EPISODE 13 – THE CONFERENCE

EPISODE 14 – COP IN BELÉM